Twice Blessed
by liljemsey
Summary: Now the Initiative is gone Buffy and Joyce are ready to give Faith the life she deserves, hoping that nothing will stand in their way. Of course things don't always go as planned. SEQUEL TO REHABILITATION.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own all the characters etc involved in this story.

**A/N: **Welcome to the sequel to Rehabilitation. If you haven't read my other story you probably should to understand some things. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as I enjoy writing them.

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"Ha! Touchdown, oh yeah go team me," Buffy said as she ran over the line drawn in the sand, throwing her hands triumphantly up in the air and twirling around in a victory dance.

"Not fair B you cheated," Faith yelled running as fast as her little legs would let her trying to catch up to where Buffy was still dancing.

"I so did not, you're just jealous of my talents. Here you can start," she said handing Faith the ball to which the toddler smirked at her cheekily and then took off racing towards her own end zone. Buffy took off running after her sister and Faith squealed with laughter as Buffy tackled her to the ground rolling in the sand so that the older Slayer was lying on her back holding the toddler above her as Faith kicked her arms and legs about laughing and trying to get down.

"I'm exhausted just watching those two. All the splashing and jumping and running, shouldn't relaxing involve less exertion?" Xander asked from where he was seated behind a fire pit trying desperately to get it lit.

"Absolutely. Exertion can lead to sweatiness," Anya said from where she was sitting up on a towel looking over the top of her sunglasses at the two Summers girls.

"Which can cause the pain and heartbreak of stinkiness. Better to just stay put," Tara said smiling from her own towel.

"Well they did just come back from a week of relaxing at the beach and what do we suggest we do? Another day at the beach, they're probably sick of doing nothing and felt like getting rid of some of that extra energy, they are Slayers after all," Willow said.

They all looked up as Faith ran up to the group plopping herself down on the end of Tara's towel.

"Game over?" Willow asked her.

"B broked the ball," Faith said as Buffy came up to the group the deflated football in her hands. The blonde Slayer threw it down on the ground and sat herself down on her own towel, Faith crawling over and situating herself between Buffy's legs leaning back against her sister.

"Xander how are the burgers coming I could eat a horse," Buffy said, Faith's stomach growling at the same time causing the group to giggle.

"I could eat a house too," Faith said pointing to her stomach.

"Wish I could help you out ladies but the, uh, fire's not cooperating. It's comforting to know that I lack the culinary finesse of a caveman," Xander said dropping the matches to the sand and screwing his face up in frustration.

Willow gestured her hand towards the fire, "Ignis incende," she said causing the logs to burst into flame making Xander fall back against the sand in surprise. Faith laughed at that clapping her hands as Xander tried to recover from his shock.

"Wilwow do some more fairy magic," she said looking at the redheaded witch.

"Yeah Will check you out with the witch-fu," Buffy said smiling appreciatively at her friend as Xander started to load the grill up with the beef patties.

"It's no big. You just have to balance the elements so when you affect one, you don't wind up causing," the redhead started but was interrupted by a huge clap of thunder that echoed along the open beach. The group jumped up as rain began to pour down soaking them through and effectively dousing out the new flames. They rushed to grab their things and Buffy grabbed their bags under one arm and held Faith under the other like a football as they all raced up the beach.

"I didn't do it, I didn't do it," Willow shrieked as they sprinted across the sand and towards Xander's van. The rain stopped as they reached the van but the dark and ominous clouds remained so they decided to call it a day as they had to meet Giles later anyway. Buffy bundled Faith up in a hooded towel that was all yellow except for the hood which was the face of a duck. The toddler pulled the towel tight around her as Tara rubbed her hands up and down Faith's arms as the toddler shivered, her teeth chattering.

"Nicely done Willow ruin the perfectly nice sunshine with horrible clouds and loud sounds," Anya scowled from where she had plunked herself in the front passenger seat sticking her head out the window so that she could be heard.

"It's not my fault, sometimes things just go kablooey," Willow defended herself.

"It's okay Will it was still pretty cool that you could do that," Buffy said as she lifted Faith up onto her hip.

"And you made Xander fall over that was funny," Faith said snuggling further into Buffy.

"Hey!" Xander said sticking his tongue out at Faith as he walked past her towards the driver's side door.

Buffy smirked at him as she lifted Faith into her car seat. They had taken it from Joyce's car so that Faith could join them on this trip while Joyce went back to work.

"Come on kids lets hit the road or Giles will have a cow that we're late for another meeting," Buffy said.

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"So there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Buffy said nervously as Giles poured her a cup of tea. Ever since her confrontation with the Initiative she had been thinking a lot about who she was. When it really came down to it she had no idea where her power came from and the thought that it could somehow be taken from her and studied which was what they had done to all the hostiles they had captured.

"You haven't been my Watcher for a while and with everything happening with Faith coming to live with us I haven't been training and I haven't really needed to come to you for help," Buffy started.

"I agree," Giles said coming to sit on the couch next to her setting the teapot on the table and taking a sip from his own steaming cup.

"And then this whole thing with the Initiative, it made me face up to some stuff. Ever since we did that spell where we called on the Slayer essence I've been going out a lot, every night," Buffy said getting up feeling a little restless as she began to pace.

"Patrolling?" Giles looked at her trying to understand where she was going with this.

"Hunting. That's what Riley called it. And he was right. It's what I do. We uh had a conversation once he was certain what I was. He understood my power better than I do. He said the Professor had told him things about the Slayer and that she saw darkness in it," she continued as Giles looked at her concern crossing his features.

"I need to know more. About where I come from, about the other slayers. I mean, maybe, maybe if I could learn to control this thing, I could be stronger, I could be better, especially if I'm going to help Faith. But, I'm scared. I know it's gonna be hard. And I can't do it, without you. I need your help," she looked up at him with a hopeful expression, "I need you to be my Watcher again."

Giles looked at her as surprise flashed across his features being quickly replaced by a large smile. It was true he hadn't been her official Watcher for awhile now and as she grew up he had been feeling a little unneeded, but would never let anyone in on this.

"Of course," was all he said as he rose taking their now empty cups briefly placing a hand on her shoulder before he walked out into his kitchen.

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"I'm just going down to the shops for awhile I need to pick up a few things for school," Buffy said pulling on her jacket as she came to the bottom of the stairs. She wanted to get these things quickly because she had a meeting with Giles to start their new training regime later on. She saw that Faith was lying on her stomach in the middle of the living room floor toys strewn all around her. She was whining about something to her mother when Buffy came fully into the room and Joyce was picking up some of the toys off of the floor.

"If you're going out, why don't you take your sister?" Joyce straightened out blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

"Mom," "Mama," Buffy and Faith whined in unison.

**A/N: Well there you have it folk's first chapter of the sequel. As you can probably tell by now this story will be borrowing from the Season Five storyline. I know this doesn't really give away too much of what's going to happen but I thought it was a nice little opener. Review please I love to hear what you guys are thinking. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long guys, I've had this chapter written for awhile but I haven't been able to get on for some reason so here you, and chapter three to come soon.**

Buffy stood in the centre of the training room her eyes closed as her Watcher walked around her his voice calm. In front of her there was a small wooden pedestal and as Giles talks she leans forward resting her hands on it her long blonde hair falling in a curtain in front of her face.

"There is nothing but you. You are the centre. And within you, there is the core of your being, of what you are," Giles said the calming tone of his voice allowing Buffy to steady and slow her breathing.

"Find it, breathe into it. Focus inward. Let the world fall away, fall away, fall away," Giles' voice faded away as Buffy's concentration heightened her focus fully on finding the balance. Giles stopped talking as he watched his Slayer her breathing was even and slow and if he hadn't known better he would have thought she was asleep. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she pulled herself up into a handstand resting atop the pedestal. Giles continues to walk around her watching as she lifts one hand up so she is balancing on one hand.

A crash sounded from the corner of the room and Buffy's eyes snapped open again as she wobbled on the pedestal eventually losing her balance and falling to the floor with a startled cry. Giles whipped his glasses off and looked over to the corner of the room with an annoyed scowl to where Faith was sitting in amongst a pile of crystals that had previously been stacked neatly forming a pyramid.

"Whoops," the toddler said looking back at the older two with a sheepish expression on her face.

Buffy groaned as she sat up rubbing her back where it had collided with the wooden pedestal as she fell.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked her walking closer to make sure as she nodded.

"Faithy you have to be careful with Grandpa Giles' things," Buffy said as Faith walked over to her.

"I didn't mean to," the toddler pleaded with them hoping that she wouldn't get in trouble.

"I know you didn't mean to and I'm not angry but you have to be careful because that could have hurt Buffy because they were helping her concentrate," Giles said as he picked the crystals up.

"So just be careful next time okay baby," Buffy said reaching forward and pulling the younger girl into her lap.

"Okay, but B can we go now?" Faith whined.

"You're getting bored aren't you, but I have to finish my training," Buffy sighed running a hand through her hair. With her mother's medical scare a couple of weeks ago Buffy had been trying her hardest to make sure that Joyce's life was as stress free as possible. That had meant that while her mother was at work she was on Faith duty and while she didn't mind her sister tagging along it made it difficult trying to keep the toddler occupied while she went about her everyday doings. After the incident with the kidnapping Faith had been reluctant to return to the day care centre and Buffy and Joyce had decided not to push her for the time being.

"Well how about we try a few meditation activities that Faith can try as well," Giles said.

"Seriously," Buffy said raising her eyebrows.

"They are just simple breathing and concentration exercises I'm sure she'll be able to do it," Giles replied.

"How about it Faithy, would you like to train with me?" Buffy asked not surprised when Faith nodded. The younger girl was always eager to participate in anything Buffy was.

"Alright, now Faith you know that feeling you get whenever Buffy is around?" Giles asked the toddler screwing up her nose and giving him a quizzical look.

"You know that warm feeling here," Buffy said pushing on the base of Faith's spine.

"Oh yeah the buzzy feeling," Faith said proud of herself when Giles nodded.

"What I want you to do is to concentrate on that feeling, just close your eyes and imagine that you are trying to touch it, Buffy you do the same," Giles instructed. Faith seemed a little confused at first, she was still sitting on Buffy's crossed legs so she turned around to see what the older Slayer was doing. Buffy had her eyes closed like Giles had instructed so Faith turned and leaned back against her doing the same.

"Okay girls focus on that feeling and breathe in....and out....in....and out," Giles said calmly. As their chests began to move in sync he shivered as the energy in the room changed. He could feel the strength and power that radiated off the two of them but it was also overwhelmed with a calmness that soothed the power. He watched in amazement as the crystals in the far corner began to glow his eyes shifting between the crystals and the two girls. He was surprised that the toddler had actually managed to achieve the level of concentration and focus this sort of meditation required as he had never seen her sit so still for quite so long for she was always restless, fidgeting with something or other.

"Fascinating," he breathed quietly but it was all it took to shatter the complete silence and pull the two from their meditation. Both opened their eyes languidly as if they had been in a deep sleep and Buffy actually slid down the mat so she was lying on her back Faith going with her lying on her chest.

"That was unbelievable," Buffy breathed.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked slightly alarmed as the two lay there almost looking like they were experiencing a drug high.

"Yeah fine, just wow, I don't ever think I've ever felt this....relaxed," Buffy smiled.

"Well I've certainly never seen or felt anything like it, the energy that radiated off you two was remarkable," Giles said.

"Giles keep it at a preschool level would you my brain still feels like warm goo," Buffy said looking up at her Watcher smirking.

"I'm just saying the results were certainly unprecedented. How about you Faith do you feel alright?" Giles asked the toddler who up until this point had been silent her thumb having found its way into her mouth.

"Sleepy," Faith said looking up at him with half lidded eyes.

"Amazing, you didn't see it but the crystals glowed, the both of your energy actually caused them to glow I have never seen anything like it," Giles said his eyes sparkling with excitement at the prospect of hitting his books.

"Well it doesn't feel like I've been energised, it feels like I've been at a day spa all day long having hot guys call Sven massage me until I'm a big pile of Buffy goop," Buffy said standing on slightly unsteady legs and resting Faith on her hip.

"Perhaps the combination of the two of you concentrating on your connection as well as relaxing at the same time caused a sort of sensory overload," Giles said starting to drift back out through the training room and back into the shop. He had decided ever since Buffy had come to him asking to know more about her calling that they would need a proper training space and with his lack of Council income he was in need of another job so he had purchased a small magic shop in the centre of town.

"Well whatever happened it was pretty intense," Buffy said following Giles out into the main shop.

"Yes indeed, I would suggest that since the occurrence of two Slayers hasn't happened before yourself and Kendra and now Faith there will be little literature on the subject to suggest what has happened it will all be based on our assumptions," Giles said going over behind the cash register.

"I'm not complaining it felt nice, it didn't feel yucky for you did it baby?" Buffy asked Faith.

"Nah, felt like hugs," Faith said around her thumb.

"It hasn't had terrible side effects as of yet so I don't think you should worry," Giles said smiling.

"Are we still going to get all those books we need?" Buffy asked him.

"Of course, we can go right now just let me grab my keys," Giles said disappearing behind the counter.

"We're going to go shopping for a bit to get me some new books," Buffy said to Faith as she carried her towards the door.

"Can you grab Faith's car seat," she called back to Giles as she walked outside her Watcher following closely behind.

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"What do you call this?" Buffy raised her eyebrows at the red sports car that sat where Giles' old grey Citroen had once been parked.

"It was time for a change," Giles said simply as he installed Faith's car seat in the back of the convertible.

"Can someone say midlife crisis," Buffy muttered to Faith as she strapped her in the car seat.

"I heard that," Giles scowled looking back at her from the driver's seat.

"Heard what?" Buffy asked innocently hopping in the front passenger seat.

They drove in comfortable silence for awhile Buffy receiving a glare from Giles as she played with the stations on his radio.

"Grandpa Giles your new car is making my hair go all fluffy," Faith said from the backseat. Buffy turned around in her seat and sniggered when she saw that Faith's hair was indeed flying all over the place, the toddler was having a hard time trying to keep it flat.

"Sorry Faithy but part of this car's appeal is that the ladies get to see how cool Grandpa Giles looks in it, can't do that if the tops up," Buffy smirked at her Watcher.

"Blast," Giles scowled as the car lurched forward.

"You put it in neutral again, huh?" Buffy said smirking as he put it back in the correct gear.

"I'm just not used to this automatic transmission. I-I loathe this sitting here, not contributing," Giles said and Faith giggled as the car lurched forward again, the Watcher having changed gears again on instinct, "No, it's not working out."

"Giles are you breaking up with your car?" Buffy asked opening her mouth in mock horror.

"Well, it did seduce me all red and sporty," Giles scowled again.

"Little two door tramp," Buffy smirked and Faith giggled again at the Watcher's obvious frustration with his car.

"Perhaps, as I am to act as your Watcher again, a modicum of respect might be in order," Giles said giving her a stern glance before returning his eyes to the road.

"Do I have to?" Buffy whined.

"I'm serious, Buffy, there's going to be far less time for the sort of flighty, frivolous," Giles began but was interrupted by Faiths cry from the backseat, "Wilwow and Tawa!" she yelled pointing excitedly at the two witches as they excited the coffee shop.

"Ooh they haven't seen my new car!" Giles exclaimed his sudden change of tune causing Buffy to roll her eyes as they pulled over to the curb.

"Nice wheels Giles," Willow said giving the car a once over Giles smiling proudly in the front seat.

"Handles like a dream," he told her as Buffy gave him an incredulous look.

"Where are you guys headed?" Buffy asked the two witches.

"The book shop on third," Tara replied.

"Us too, would you like a lift?" Giles asked the girls.

"Oh yes please," Willow said as the two hopped in one sitting either side of Faith's car seat.

"Hey Faithy," Willow smiled tickling the toddler's stomach and Tara smiled a greeting.

"Grandpa Giles' new car is making my hair go all crazy," the young girl said earnestly to the two witches.

"I can see that," Tara said as she ran a hand over Faith's hair trying to smooth it down.

"I think it's a lost cause," Willow said as they pulled away from the curb her own hair beginning to get in her face.

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When they arrived at the bookstore Tara unstrapped Faith from her car seat before helping her out of the car. Faith took the blonde witches hand as they walked in front of the rest of the group.

"Will I meant to tell you with my new training schedule I had to drop a class," Buffy said as she walked arm in arm with her best friend.

"That's understandable. Your slayer studies are way more important," Willow replied.

"So I won't be taking drama with you," Buffy said bracing herself for her friends reaction.

"What? You have to, you promised!" Willow exclaimed.

"I know but with Mom working and Faith not wanting day care and my new Slayer studies I don't have time for it, just be happy I'm not quitting all together missy," Buffy reasoned looking ahead to where Tara had scooped Faith up and was holding her up so the two of them could look in the shop window.

"Shops kinda dark maybe it's closed," Tara called to them.

"That's odd, I checked the shop hours before we came," Giles frowned.

"The doors open," Buffy called as the rest of the gang followed her into the shop. Tara put the toddler on the ground when they were inside and took the younger girls' hand in her own as they took in the ransacked shop.

"Well I think odd just got upped to bad," Buffy said as she looked around.

"Hello is anyone there?" Giles called into the darkened shop.

"Mr Bogarty?" Tara called and everyone turned giving her a surprised look, "he's the owner, I come in here a lot," she explained.

A thud calls their attention to Willow who after having walked further into the darkened store has tripped over and disappeared from view.

"Will?" Buffy called coming to see what the commotion was about.

"I'm fine I just tripped over," Willow replied turning around, her eyes widening in horror as she realised she has tripped over a dead body the tell tale signs of a vampire attack clearly visible on his neck, "Mr Bogarty."

The redheaded witch back peddled a little as she realised what it was she had tripped over and stood as the blonde Slayer and her Watcher came to stand next to her. Buffy turned in alarm to where Tara and Faith were still hanging back a little.

"Tara can you take her outside please," Buffy asked the blonde witch who nodded picking Faith up again and quickly carrying her outside.

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"What are they doing?" Faith asked Tara as the blonde witch set her down outside the shop.

"They're just working out where the owner of the shop has gone," Tara said leading Faith over to the curb and sitting her down.

"Why did B make us go outside?" Faith asked.

"Well she thought you might get bored in there so she let us go outside so we can play," Tara smiled at the toddler.

"Whatcha doing?" the two sitting on the curb looked up at the greeting. The man in front of them was dressed in ripped brown clothes, his hair hung around his face in greasy strands not having been washed for quite some time.

"What are you doing here? You can't loiter. There's no loitering," he said bending down in front of them causing Faith to lean closer towards Tara.

"That's why I'm a cat. Quiet. See, cat's in the cupboard," he continued scratching at his arms, "but they find you there anyway, and it hurts." Faith whimpered as Tara pulled her up onto her lap.

"I think you should just leave us alone," Tara said stroking Faith's hair as the toddler hid her face from view.

"Please make it stop," the man yelled and Faith turned around to look at him in shock. When their eyes met his cries stopped and he looked at her in awe reaching out a grubby gloved hand to touch her cheek, "I know you. Curds and whey. I know what you are. You are sacred, you shouldn't be here." With that the man removed his hand from Faith's face and ran away laughing crazily as he did.

"He was scary," Faith said as she watched him go.

"He was but don't listen to anything he said Faithy. There was something wrong with his head so he says all kinds of things that aren't true okay," Tara said still stroking the toddler's hair.

"How long are they gonna be?" Faith asked.

"I don't know they have some detecting to do, but in the meantime we can thumb wrestle," Tara said placing Faith back on the curb beside her and holding out her thumb.

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"Judging by the bite fest I'd say it was more than one vamp," Buffy said peering over at the dead body.

"I'd say four at least," Giles said inspecting the body.

"Looks like someone's put together a new fang club, goody," Buffy said walking over to where Willow stood behind the counter an inventory book in her hands.

"Well, I've cross-checked the inventory list, and things are definitely missing. Mostly books," Willow said screwing her eyes up in confusion as Buffy pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, "Including _A Treatise on the Mythology and Methodology of the Vampire Slayer_."

"Oh shoot!" Buffy said throwing her list down, "Was that the only copy?"

"Come on, Buffy, this could be very serious. Whoever's leading this pack of vampires appears to be interested in learning more about you. Perhaps searching for weaknesses or about the source of your power, I suggest you begin looking for their lair straight away," Giles said coming over and standing with them.

"Guess it's patrol time for Buffy," she sighed heading towards the front door.

"Wait aren't you forgetting something?" Willow called as Buffy gave her a questioning look.

"You're on Faith duty," Willow said.

"Right, forgot, this is usually day care time, maybe I could drop her off at the gallery," Buffy paused her eyes widening, "oh my god Mom is just gonna kill me."

"I think you'll be alright I don't think she saw anything," Willow said smiling at her friend sympathetically.

"I hope not, can you imagine it. Mom walks in after a long day at work and Faith runs up to her, Mama guess what I saw today, I would never be able to leave the house again," Buffy groaned.

"Look here something's been taken from this case," Giles said indicating the broken glass.

"What'd they take?" Buffy asked coming to stand behind her Watcher.

"I should think an item of, of value, or-or power, possibly even a-" he was cut off by Willow who read from the inventory book.

"A unicorn. 10-inch ceramic unicorn imported from Thailand," the witch supplied.

"Which begs the question, what kind of an unholy creature fancies cheap tasteless statuary?" Giles said taking his glasses off and cleaning them with his handkerchief.

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A blonde female vampire stood in front of a group of hour male vampires applauding them for their efforts in bringing her the books she requested as well as stealing a vampire for her collection. Harmony stood in front of her minions pleased with their efforts. They were going to kill the Slayer; no it wasn't original, but if she were the one to do it it would show to all those other vampires who had ever doubted how evil she actually was.

"So when are we going to do the plan? When are we going to eat?" the largest of her four minions asked.

"Well the plan, ah, well, first lemme tell you I'm really psyched about it and I hope the rest of you guys are going to as well," Harmony started but was interrupted by a growling from her minions.

"When do we do it?" he asked.

"Ahh first off ewww I hardly know you, and you're a minion how would that look," she said screwing up her face in disgust.

"When!" the largest vampire yelled.

"Tonight," she glared at him, "we kill the Slayer tonight."

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"You brought her to a murder scene!" Joyce said looking at her eldest daughter in shock as she walked through the gallery, Buffy and Faith in tow.

"No, I didn't bring her to it, it just sorta came upon us. It's not like she saw the body or anything," Buffy replied picking Faith up so they could keep up with Joyce's quick pace.

"Oh, well. That makes it all right then, doesn't it? She's four Buffy, she shouldn't be around these sorts of things," Joyce said turning around to face her daughters.

"I'm a big girl," Faith protested.

"Yes you are," Buffy smiled at Faith and then looked at her mother again, "that is not what I meant."

"You knew I needed your help today Buffy, you didn't have classes so you said you could look after your sister. And now you want to unload her, so you can go out with your friends," Joyce said fixing up a painting that was hanging on the wall.

"To patrol. I'm working, it's not like I wanna go to the sock hop," Buffy said readjusting Faith on her hip.

"I have people coming round for a show in half an hour, who's going to watch Faith?" Joyce asked.

"I don't need anyone to watch me I'm a big girl," Faith pouted crossing her arms over her chest making Buffy have to adjust her hold on her again so she didn't drop the young girl.

"You may be a big girl but you still need someone to stay with you," Joyce said walking further into the gallery and toward her office.

"Wait. So what you're saying is if I can get an acceptable babysitter here before you leave, I can go patrol?" Buffy said trailing behind Joyce.

"I don't wanna babysitter," Faith cried shaking her head as the other two ignored her.

"Who are you going to get on such short notice?" Joyce asked sitting behind her desk.

"Xander," Buffy said her eyes lighting up.

"Xander?" Joyce replied.

"Yeah he isn't working today and he loves Faith I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Buffy said placing Faith on the edge of Joyce's desk.

"Xander's going to come and play with me?" Faith asked getting excited now.

"Well I was thinking more like you can go and play at Xander's place," Buffy said smiling at her sister's excitement.

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"Well there's my girls," Xander smiled as he opened the door to his basement apartment.

"Thanks again for doing this Xand I really appreciate it," Buffy said handing Faith over to him.

"Total non sweat, me and Faithy are going to have a blast," he said blowing a raspberry on the toddler's stomach making her squeal with laughter.

"Well I have my cell if you have any problems," Buffy said.

"Have fun and kick much undead booty," Xander replied.

"I'll be back to get you in a couple of hours, be good for Xander okay," Buffy said leaning over and giving Faith a kiss.

"Oh, we will. We're just gonna play with matches, run with scissors, take candy from, some guy I don't know his name," Xander smirked as he closed the door.

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"So then my mom goes off on me about how I'm supposed to watch out for Faith and make sure that she's shielded from something that might upset her," Buffy said as she, Willow, Tara and Giles walked through the cemetery.

"Like dead bodies," Willow supplied.

"She didn't see him, a dead foot maybe which is bad I get that, but I see dead stuff all the time, and you don't see Mom shielding me," Buffy continued.

"She's four!" Willow said looking at her friend.

"I know but Mom doesn't even seem to care that I've been seeing dead bodies for going on five years now," Buffy said.

"So you want your mother to give you space to be a slayer, and shield you from it at the same time," Willow said trying to process her friend's logic.

"Did I mention this is a rant? Sense really has no place in it," Buffy said scowling at her friend.

"What's the deal Buff you seem really tense?" Willow asked, looking back at Giles and Tara who were having a discussion of their own behind them.

"Yeah, there's a new vampire gang in town," Buffy said giving her a duh look.

"I meant tense in the domestic sense," Willow replied.

"I'm just stressed is all. She's the baby and I know she deserves to be, she deserves this life, but sometimes, and I realise how terrible I sound saying this, but sometimes I would like to just curl up in Mom's lap and not worry about the fate of the world. I'd like to be the one who's protected, who's waited on hand and foot, who gets bed time stories about fairies and flowers read to them and then tucked into bed," Buffy sighed running hand through her hair, "go on judge away."

"Hey, far be it from me to be all judgementally. I as an only child myself can't imagine what it would suddenly be like to have to share all the attention, if there's any at all, but you have to remember that she's never had this before, and it's clear your Mom loves you both equally it's just Faith is more needy than you are," Willow tried to reason with her friend.

"God I know, I sound like such a jealous baby, don't get me wrong, I love having Faith in our family and I'm deliriously happy that she's getting this second chance don't worry just ignore be being all middle child syndrome on you," Buffy said.

"Don't worry about it Buff, I'm here for you whenever you need, Harmony?" Willow finished.

"Harmony what would I need harmony for?" Buffy asked scrunching her nose in confusion.

"No Harmony, look," Willow said pointing to where Harmony stood arms crossed, surrounded by her four minions.

Buffy walked up closer towards the vampire stopping a few metres from the group, her own group standing close behind her.

"So Slayer, at last we meet," Harmony said.

"We've met Harmony you halfwit," Buffy said rolling her eyes.

"I'm the halfwit? Um, excuse me, but look who's fallen into my," the blonde vampire sneered but was interrupted when one of her minions ran at Buffy with a large axe. The blonde vampire hardly had time to blink before her first minion was dust as Buffy ducked under the oncoming swing, pulling a stake out of her jacket and staking him, grabbing the axe that fell from his hands as he disintegrates. The next minion roars as he rushed at her not even throwing a punch before his head is separated from his body from one deft swing of the axe and he too becomes particles floating away in the wind.

"Trap," Harmony finishes looking around in disbelief at her halved faction.

"Harmony, when you tried to be head cheerleader, you were bad. When you tried to chair the homecoming committee, you were really bad. But when you try to be bad, you suck," Buffy said throwing a stake at Harmony's two remaining minions, their roars echoing through the graveyard as they exploded into dust.

"I think it's about time I was uh," Harmony said before she sprinted away from the group.

"Wonders will never cease," was all Giles said before the group turned and walked out of the cemetery.

************************************************************************************************

"So how'd everything go here?" Buffy asked as Xander let her in to his apartment.

"Oh it was great. We had some dinner, we played some games, Anya tried to teach Faith the dos and don'ts of foreplay, don't worry I stopped her before she really said anything," Xander said holding out his hands to stop Buffy's protests, "and now she's teaching Faith the proper ways to fold laundry," he finished pointing over his shoulder where the ex-demon was indeed helping Faith fold one of Xander's shirts.

"Sounds like a real riot," Buffy laughed at the bored look on Faith's face.

"It was fun, I think she was having a good time up until the laundry, but we only just started that so hopefully she won't think too badly of me," Xander smiled.

"Hey Faithy are you ready to go home?" Buffy called walking closer to Xander's bed.

"B!" Faith cried looking up excitedly when she heard her sisters voice, getting up from where she sat crossed legged on the bed and jumping off the end into Buffy's waiting arms.

"What do you say to Xander and Anya?" Buffy asked kissing her on the top of her head.

"Thanks for looking after me and playing games with me," Faith said.

"That's okay, anytime Faithy," Xander replied giving her a high five.

"Thanks again guys," Buffy said smiling at her friends.

"See you tomorrow?" Xander asked walking them to the door, Buffy nodded and Faith waved goodbye to the couple.

"Finally," Anya said.

************************************************************************************************

"I don't wanna go to bed yet Mama isn't home," Faith whined as they walked in the front door.

"Okay tell you what, we'll go and put your PJ's on and then we'll watch some TV until Mom gets home, how does that sound?" Buffy asked and Faith nodded excitedly running out of the room. Buffy moved into the kitchen and grabbed some bread from the cupboard, making herself a quick sandwich. She was settled on the couch in front of the television by the time Faith came running down the stairs dressed in her pyjamas with her stuffed cow in hand. The toddler ran over to the couch and jumped up onto Buffy's lap.

Buffy smiled at her sister brushing some hair away from her face. Moments like these when it was just the two of them she actually did truly cherish no matter how much she complained about it to Willow or the rest of her friends. Faith wasn't a burden she had to carry, she was family and she wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize the younger girl having a normal family life.

"You know I love you right," she said to the toddler.

"I wove you too," Faith said settling herself on Buffy's lap.

They both looked up as the front door opened and Joyce walked in looking a little weary.

"Sorry it ran so late. Everything, uh, go okay?" she asked coming in to sit beside them on the couch.

"Yeah, you know, I got the vamps and we watched some TV," Buffy said.

"Well, I know at least one of us who is supposed to be in bed by now," Joyce said taking Faith from Buffy and standing up.

"Will you read me a story?" Faith asked.

"Of course, I will tuck you in and then we can read a story," Joyce said leaning over and allowing Buffy to place a kiss on Faith's cheek.

"Can it be the story about the little fairies that go on the flower boats? Faith's voice floated down the stairs as they walked up towards her room.

Buffy smiled as she leaned back against the couch. Sometimes she was jealous, but she couldn't hold it against Faith. This is what the toddler deserved and she was not going to be the one to deny her that.

**A/N: A very very long chapter I know, but I hope it kept you interested. Please review I would love to know what you think so far. **


	3. Chapter 3

The sounds of a kung-fu movie filtered in through Buffy's subconscious as she read intently from her book. She and Faith were joining Xander and Anya for a movie night and while she was immersed in her book her and Xander and Anya watched on in mild nervousness as Faith copied the moves she was seeing on the television.

"Wish I had something food-like to offer you guys but the hot plates out of commission," Xander said.

"We think the cat peed on it," Anya supplied not taking her eyes off the screen.

"I do have Spaghetti-O's. Set 'em on top of the dryer and you're a fluff cycle away from lukewarm goodness. How about Faith would you like some O's?" Xander asked the toddler.

"Not now Xander I'm tryna be a superhero," Faith said turning her attention back to the screen and copying another martial arts move.

"And if you didn't have the supernatural strength to match I wouldn't be as nervous," he said quietly so only Anya could hear him, wincing when the young girl kicked even closer to his television.

"Yes Buffy please get the small Slayer to stop before she breaks the most expensive thing in Xander's room," Anya said scowling when the blonde Slayer didn't look up from her book.

"What's a Slayer?" Faith asked stopping her kicking and turning to face the couple on the couch. Xander's eyes widened, he knew that Buffy and Joyce hadn't explained to the toddler what she was and whilst the young girl knew about vampires and demons and that Buffy fought them she wasn't really aware of what she was. Luckily he was spared from an explanation when a door slams upstairs and a muffled yelling can be heard filtering in from upstairs.

"Ah guess the folks are back," Xander said a hint of embarrassment edging into his voice, "No, no, I was wrong. Just incompetent burglars," he smiled sheepishly at Anya as a loud bang sounded from upstairs causing flakes of plaster to fall from the ceiling and onto the ex-demon's head.

"Yeah, maybe it's definitely time to start looking for a new place. Something a little nicer. Buffy, you've been to Hell. They have one-bedrooms, right? Xander said looking over at Buffy, his words having no effect on her as she was still immersed in her reading.

"B Mama says it's not nice to ignore people when they ask you something," Faith said coming to stand in front of her sister.

"I'm fine," Buffy said offhandedly her eyes never leaving the page.

"Come on B, stop bein' boring," Faith whined trying to pull the book from out of Buffy's grasp.

"Hey, I'm enjoying the studying," Buffy pouted but she let Faith take the book from her.

"Who are you and what have you done with my fellow unscholaristic friend, formerly known as Buffy?" Xander asked.

"You know never thought I would be saying this but college life actually agrees with Buffy," Buffy said.

"Oh blasphemy!" Xander gasped holding a hand to his chest in mock horror.

They were interrupted by a crash from the corner of the room as a piece of plaster fell from the roof and fell to the floor. Faith who had walked off to the other side of the room to look at Xander's comic book collection came racing back over to the group sitting on the couch.

"I didn't do it," the toddler said launching herself onto Buffy's lap and looking at Xander with a slightly scared expression, as if she expected he was going to yell at her.

"It's okay Faithy I know you didn't. Yep, definitely time for a new place," Xander said putting his arm around his girlfriend.

*********************************************************************************************

"You know what if Xander actually gets this place we might be walking up this corridor and singing tra la la la la we're off to Xander's," Willow smiled down at Faith as she swung their entwined hands. They were following Xander, Anya and Buffy down the corridor of a nice apartment block. Xander's earlier sentiment of finding a new place to live was quickly become a reality as this was the third place they had looked at today.

"Just warning you Xander I probably won't be doing that," Buffy said to her friend.

"Your sister is a bit of a scrooge sometimes," Willow said bending down to pick Faith up.

"Sometimes B is real fun, last night we made a cubby house under the kitchen table but then Mama got angry 'cause we used her good sheets," Faith said playing with the fluffy orange collar of Willow's sweater.

"Yeah and you got my in trouble because you told Mom it was all my idea which it so was not," Buffy said from in front of them.

"It was too, you sayed that we could play whatever I wanted to," Faith said her voice rising.

"Just 'cause I said we could play whatever you wanted to doesn't mean it was my fault we got in trouble," Buffy retorted.

"But you gots the sheets from the cupboard and put them on the table," Faith pouted crossing her arms across her chest. Willow nearly ran into the group in front of them who had stopped in front of a white door.

"Could you two please keep it down, your incessant yelling may ruin Xander's chances of getting this apartment which if judging by this hallway is going to be beautiful and spacious," Anya said running her hands lovingly along the pristine white walls that lined the corridor.

"Hey, we're just lookin'. Rent's way high, so don't get your hopes all carbonated," Xander said putting up his hands.

"But you have references," Anya frowned.

"No, I have Albert, which is me doing an important voice," Xander said turning to Faith and putting on a funny accent, "'Xander Harris? An excellent tenant. And a very nice-looking fellow,'" he finished and Faith giggled leaning over so he could take her from Willow.

"Wow this place is big," Willow said looking around in awe as they walked into the spacious apartment.

"I want it, pay anything," Anya said coming to stand next to Xander who was still standing near the doorway, Faith in his arms.

"Xander Harris?" he jumped at the voice behind him and turned to see a smartly dressed woman with cropped brown hair enter who they all assumed to be the estate agent.

"Ah yeah, hey," he said, balancing Faith in one arm and sticking the other out for her to shake which she did almost gingerly as she appraised his bold Hawaiian t-shirt.

"You have a daughter," the estate agent said looking at Faith, "you said in your application that it would just be yourself and your girlfriend."

"Daughter, what no, Faiths not, she's Buffy's, not mine," Xander spluttered. Sensing his distress Buffy came over and stuck her hand out to shake the real estate agents.

"Hi I'm Buffy, this is my sister Faith," she said taking the toddler from Xander, "and this is Willow we're friends of Xander and Anya."

"I see," the estate agent replied.

"They wouldn't always be around," Xander added quickly.

"But we're clean and quiet," Willow smiled nervously at the woman as Buffy came over to join her redheaded friend on the opposite side of the room. The estate agent continued to talk to Xander and Anya about the terms of the lease as Willow stared pointedly at Faith.

"Weird," she muttered.

"What?" Buffy asked frowning at her friend.

"Well just if I squint like this I can kind of see a bit of Xander in Faith," Willow said motioning to the toddler's brown eyes and hair.

"Eww Will don't even go there," Buffy exclaimed trying to cover Faith's ears.

"Don't," Faith whined loudly, trying to pull Buffy's hands off her ears. Anya shot them an annoyed look from the other side of the room as the estate agent spoke to her and Xander.

"Come on why don't we go and check out the bedroom?" Buffy said smiling apologetically at Xander and pulling Willow along with her. Buffy deposited Faith non to gracefully on the bed and the toddler bounced a few times before coming to sit on the end. They heard Xander laugh nervously from the other room as Anya proclaimed that the brunette man would take the apartment.

"I don't think Xander should get this 'partment," Faith said seriously looking around the bedroom.

"Why not Faithy? It's a pretty nice place," Willow said.

"Because," the toddler replied emphasising the end of the word, "there's no toys here so Xander will be sad all the time."

"Oh no poor Xander we must stop him immediately," Willow smirked leaning over and pushing Faith back on the bed blowing raspberries on the toddler's stomach.

"Wilwow stop!" Faith shrieked trying to push the witch off of her as she giggled.

"Only if you say Willow is the funnest, coolest most fantabulous person you know," Willow said.

"Okay, Wilwow is the funnest, coolest most fan-fanab-fantablous person I know," Faith gasped out, scrunching up her face as the witch left one last sloppy raspberry on her stomach before pulling her shirt back down.

"I told you, my construction job is ending, and I won't have any more money coming in. And by the way, you do have your own place," Xander said quietly as he and Anya walked into the bedroom to be out of earshot of the estate agent.

"So when I wanna visit you, I have to be in that awful basement?" Anya asked her voice rising angrily.

"Not forever. Just until things come together," Xander said putting his hand on her arm trying to calm her.

"Which is when, Xander? 'Cause right now, things are looking pretty untogether, and you can't expect me just to wait around," Anya said pulling out of his grasp swiping angrily at the few frustrated tears that had slipped down her cheeks.

"Xander Avelle Harris you pologise to Anya right away," Faith said hopping up off the end of the bed and pointing at him.

"It's Lavelle, wait what how did you know that?" Xander asked.

"Ah come on Faithy we should go let Xander and Anya talk this through," Willow said scooping Faith up hurriedly, a guilty expression flashing across her face as she walked quickly out of the bedroom. Xander turned to the blonde Slayer who was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What are you looking at me for?" she squeaked before quickly following Willow out.

"Thanks for leaving me high and dry in there guys I nearly broke and told him that we told Faith all his embarrassing secrets," Buffy said as she walked into the living room.

"Sorry Buff didn't mean to leave you high and dry but you know how I break under pressure," Willow said smiling sheepishly.

"Did you know that I have a Batman?" Faith asked the estate agent as the lady stood leaning against the kitchen bench. The estate agent looked from her paper work and smiled at the child before going back to her reading.

"I do my Mama got it for me, but she didn't get B one 'cause she sayed that B was already too spoiled," the young girl said earning a disgruntled "Hey!" from Buffy but this didn't deter her, "and I had a Piderman as well but I gave it to Angel so it would look after him," she continued frowning when the only reaction she got from the estate agent was another quick smile.

"Hey lady my Mama says when someone is speaking to you you gotta say somethin' back," she said tugging on the woman's skirt.

"Faith!" Buffy admonished coming over to where her sister stood smiling apologetically at the estate agent.

"What?" Faith asked.

"That was rude you shouldn't speak to people that way," Buffy said.

"But Mama told me that it is rude not to answer people when they talk to you and that lady didn't answer me," Faith said not too quietly and Buffy's face flamed with embarrassment as they were clearly in earshot of the lady in question.

"She's busy baby, I think you should say sorry to her for being rude," Buffy said. Faith seemed to think about things for a bit her brow furrowed finally she crossed her arms in a defiant gesture, "No," she said.

Buffy recoiled a little in surprise, the toddler had had her moments but she had never deliberately disobeyed herself or her mother.

"Faith apologise to," she glanced up at the estate agent's name badge, "Michelle please," she tried again.

"No," Faith said again putting her hands on her hips in a stance that mirrored Buffy's.

"Faith Isabelle you apologise right now or you will be sitting in that corner until we're finished here and go to the Magic Shop you won't be doing any of the activities Grandpa Giles has, you will be sitting and watching," Buffy said sternly her voice rising.

"No," Faith said quieter this time.

Buffy sighed, "Okay then let's go," she said taking Faith by the elbow and leading her towards the corner of the room. The toddler went without a struggle but Willow caught the hurt look on her face as she passed her.

"Okay Faith you sit there in silence until we're ready to go," Buffy said pushing her down so she was sitting on the floor. The young girl crossed her legs and hung her head as she sat in the corner playing with her hands. Buffy went back over to the estate agent smiling apologetically at her.

"I'm sorry about that," Buffy said.

"It's okay, I probably should have said something to her, I'm not used to being around kids," Michelle admitted.

"No problems, she shouldn't have spoken to you like that anyway," Buffy said running a hand through her hair and looking over at Faith who still had her head bowed.

"I guess I'll just start on that application. I think you'll like it. I've been told I have lovely penmanship," Xander said smiling nervously as he and Anya walked out from the bedroom. Michelle handed him the application the expression on her face sceptical.

************************************************************************************************

Faith wouldn't look at Buffy as they made their way to the Magic Shop. She hadn't spoken a word to her sister since she had been put in time out. The four year old was currently walking in between Willow and Xander and was holding onto their hands. Buffy scuffed her shoe along the pavement as they walked. She knew she had done the right thing but she still hated when Faith was upset with her. Willow seemed to notice her friend's distress so she let go of Faith's hand and fell back so she was walking in time with Buffy.

"She'll get over it," Willow said.

"I know, I still don't like being all stern Buffy though, it's not good for my complexion," Buffy pouted.

"You did the right thing Buff," Willow said holding the door open for her friend as they approached the Magic Shop.

The ringing of the bell alerted Giles to their presence and he rushed up to them, "Buffy thank goodness you are here," he said.

"Here I am, what's the what Giles you look all...sweaty," Buffy said looking her Watcher up and down.

"A demon came in here looking for you and we had a bit of a run in," Giles said.

"How badly did you hurt him?" Buffy asked as they went to sit at the table the blonde Slayer pointing at the stairs for Faith to sit on giving her a stern glance.

"Well, hurt may be a bit of a strong word," Giles said taking his glasses off.

"I'm sure you startled him," Willow said handing Faith a drink of water.

"Uh, yes, yes, I'd imagine it gave him, uh, rather a turn," Giles said wiping at his glasses.

"He ran away huh," Buffy grinned at him enjoying teasing her Watcher.

"Um, sort of more ... uh ... turned and swept out majestically, I suppose. He said I didn't concern him," Giles said placing his glasses back on his face and deliberately not making eye contact with anyone in the room.

"So a mythic triumph over a completely indifferent foe?" Buffy said smirking.

"Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me," Giles said looking mildly insulted.

"Have a look in this book Giles there's some good demons in there maybe you can find your uh, turn and walk awayer," Willow said handing Giles a large leather bound book. Buffy looked over at Faith who was sitting with her chin in her hands a pensive expression on her face. She walked over and knelt so that she was eye level with the young girl.

"Faith are you sorry for what you did?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know why you are angry 'cause Mama told me that it is rude not to answer people when they ask you somethin'," Faith said quietly not looking at Buffy.

"I'm not angry at what you said, I'm angry because of the way you said it. It's not right to speak to someone the way you did. Not only that you disobeyed me, I told you to do something and you didn't," Buffy replied.

"I was bad wasn't I," Faith said softly.

"Yeah you were," Buffy said brushing some hair away from the toddler's face.

"If you do it I won't cry, I never cry," Faith said looking down at her feet.

"If I do what?" Buffy asked.

"Beat me," Faith said under her breath.

Buffy froze; sometimes she forgot the circumstances of the younger girls past. Forgetting that Faith was meant to be being punished she pulled the toddler into her arms. Faith tensed at first obviously expecting to get hit but when she realised that Buffy was hugging her she threw her arms around the older girl's neck.

"Sweetheart I would never hit you, no one would ever hit you for misbehaving," she said into Faith's hair, "not anymore."

"I'm sowy, Faith said as she pulled away.

"Apology accepted," Buffy said kissing her on the forehead.

"You know Giles the last couple of owners of this place met an untimely end and now you had a run in with demon guy, is anyone else thinking bad omen?" Xander said as he looked around at his friends.

"Toth," Giles muttered looking up from his book.

"Say what now?" Xander replied.

"He called you a Toth. It's a British expression. It means, like, moron," Buffy told her friend matter of factly.

"No, Toth is the name of the demon," Giles said looking at the blonde Slayer exasperatedly, "Faith put that down," the British man called as he spotted Faith over Buffy's shoulder holding a purple crystal. The toddler looked up sheepishly and put the crystal back on the shelf and came to stand next to Buffy taking her hand.

"Ancient demon. Very strong. Last survivor of the Tothric clan. It also says that for a demon he's unusually sophisticated," Giles finished.

"Sophisticated? So should I talk to him about men's fashions before I chop his head off?" Buffy asked.

"They're referring to the fact that he does not fight bare-handed. He uses tools, devices. Oh, he's also supposed to be very focused. And since he mentioned the slayer, I think we know what the focus is," Giles said shaking his head.

"Well I'm thinking a good killing will get him off our hands. Where do we find him?" she asked Giles.

"Well, there's no mention of the types of places he might frequent, but I have an idea. He had a very specific olfactory presence," Giles said closing his book and standing up.

"Grandpa Giles you talk funny," Faith said crinkling her nose and looking at the Watcher, he made a face at her and pulled her into his arms giving her an Eskimo kiss.

"Hey how come everytime I make fun of the G-Man I don't get kisses," Xander pouted as Buffy and Willow turned and raised their eyebrows at him, "wait forget that I even said that. So we're off the olfactory then," he said looking at Giles who rolled his eyes at the younger man, "I'm kidding I know what it means, he smelt right?"

************************************************************************************************

"The city dump. Where smells go to relax and be themselves," Buffy said pinching her nose as they walked amongst the mounds of garbage the residents of Sunnydale have disposed off.

"I found a spell so you can't smell anything, but it does it by taking your nose off, so ... no," Willow said shaking her head quickly.

"Giles explain to us again what this Sloth guy looks like," Buffy said as she kicking at a piece of old toaster on the ground.

"Ah tall, robed, skin sort of hanging off. Deep voice," Giles said frowning as he tried to remember.

"Kind of like that?" Xander asked pointing over their shoulders to where a creature fitting that description was indeed standing, his eyes glowing a fluorescent yellow and a large wooden rod in his hand. Before any of them had any time to react Toth roared into the darkness pointing his rod at them a red beam shooting out of the end. The beam missed them all as they ducked for cover and Buffy has to roll out of the way of the next one that narrowly misses hitting her. The demon roared again in frustration as he raised his rod his eyes glowing more intensely as his anger rose. He pointed it at Buffy who was still getting up off the ground and Willow and Giles looked on in horror as the beam hit Xander in the chest as he dove in front of the blonde Slayer.

The power of the shock sent him flying back into a pile of garbage that was behind him and the impact knocks the breath from his lungs. The rest of the gang rushed over to him hurriedly scrambling to make sure that he was alright.

"Xander are you alright?" Willow asked her best friend a worried frown on her face.

"I'm okay," Xander said as Giles helped him up.

"Easy," the Watcher said as the younger man groaned.

"He's gone," the blonde Slayer said as she looked around for the demon who had disappeared.

"That had to hurt," Willow said as she looped one of Xander's arms around her shoulder, Giles taking the other side.

"Yeah, yeah," Xander said.

"Take it slowly," Giles said.

************************************************************************************************

The morning rays of sunshine beat down on the Sunnydale city dump, the crows that had been foraging there cawing as they rose into the air, the roaring of a bulldozer interrupting their morning activities. Xander yawned as he scrubbed his hands over his eyes his nose scrunching slightly at the smell that affronted his senses.

"Anya are you using the hot plate again?" he asked opening his eyes blearily. As his vision cleared he realised that he was not in his basement apartment, the mounds of garbage surrounding him alerting him to this fact.

"Oh this is not good," he said sitting up and looking around, "so not good."

**A/N: Reviews please. They make me a happy author. **


	4. Chapter 4

"Mama do you have to go to work today?" Faith asked her mother as the two of them sat at the kitchen table eating their cereal.

"Unfortunately yes," Joyce said wiping off Faith's face.

"I don't want you to go I want you to stay home with me," Faith pouted pushing Joyce's hand that was trying to finish wiping off her face away.

"Sweetheart I had to close the gallery while we went away so I have to make up for that time, besides you always have fun when Buffy looks after you," Joyce said.

"I know I do but B was mean yesterday," Faith pouted putting another spoonful of cereal into her mouth and dripping milk down her pyjama top.

"She explained to you why she was angry with you; if I was there I would have done the same thing," Joyce said taking her plate over to the kitchen sink.

"But she made me sit in the corner by myself," Faith whined dropping more cereal down her front as she wasn't concentrating on what she was doing.

"Honey lean over your bowl when you ear you're getting it all over yourself," Joyce admonished her youngest giving up on trying to clean her up, "and as for the punishment Buffy told me what happened and she said that you two had made up after, are you still mad at her?"

Faith frowned as she took another bite of her cereal missing her mother's wince as she dripped more milk onto her top. "I'm not mad just don't like it when B gets mad at me, I don't mean to be bad," she finished quietly.

"Buffy isn't angry at you anymore, you apologised for misbehaving and she's forgiven you," Joyce said taking Faith's now empty bowl and taking it over to the sink, "And we know you don't mean to be bad, you're a very good girl sweetheart."

"I'll be at Giles if you need me, we're meeting there before we go out searching," Buffy said coming into the kitchen and grabbing a bagel off the bowl on the kitchen counter.

"Wait Buffy you said you could watch Faith today," Joyce said.

"But it's Wednesday, you don't work on Wednesdays," Buffy frowned taking a bite from her bagel.

"Buffy you said you could do it when you came in last night," Joyce sighed.

"Sorry but I was kind of distracted with the glowy eyed demon that had just been trying to blast me with it's rod of doom," Buffy retorted.

"I told you I would really be needing your help while I tried to catch up on work because we went away," Joyce said.

"I know but it's not like I can take her with me, it's kind of dangerous I don't want her getting hurt," Buffy replied taking another bagel.

"I won't be bad today B promise, I'm a good girl," Faith piped up misunderstanding the reasons behind why Buffy didn't want to take her along.

"I know you're a good girl Faithy," Buffy said absentmindedly looking briefly at the toddler before speaking again to Joyce, "would it be okay if I left her with Xander for awhile?"

"I suppose, but Buffy we have to stop relying on Xander so much he has a life as well," Joyce said, "and I am sorry to be dumping all this responsibility on you this week, I know you have school and your other duties but you girls have healthy appetites and I need to work so I can keep up with you," Joyce smiled picking up her bag from the bench.

"Fine, but only because I am a fan of not starving," Buffy smirked.

"Thanks honey," Joyce said kissing her daughter on the cheek before going to kneel in front of where Faith was still sitting on her chair, "I want you to be good for Buffy and Xander, do everything they say, I'll see if I can get off early and maybe we can do something special tonight, go see a movie or something," she finished giving Faith a kiss.

"Buffy can you give her a bath before you leave she got more cereal on her than in her this morning," Joyce said as she walked out of the kitchen.

Buffy smirked taking in Faith's milk sodden pyjama top, "Come on kiddo let's get you cleaned up," she said.

**************************************************************************

"B can I have bubbles?" Faith asked as Buffy turned on the taps.

"Not today baby, I'm already running late to meet Grandpa Giles and if we have bubbles you're not gonna want to get out," Buffy replied helping Faith out of her pyjamas and lifting her into the bathtub, "but you can play with your bath toys while I go and get the phone," she said handing her the plastic toys. She could hear Faith splashing and chatting happily with her toys as she walked towards her mother's bedroom and grabbed the cordless phone from her bedside table dialling Xander's number as she walked back towards the bathroom.

"No answer," Buffy sighed sitting on the edge of the bathtub, "I 'spose it is a bit early for Xander to be up yet it isn't midday, we'll have to give him a wake up call."

"What colour do you want to wear today Faithy?" she asked bending over and filling a cup with bathwater. Buffy and Joyce would let Faith pick what colour clothes she wanted and then choose an outfit for her, the toddler always wanted to feel like she had a say in everything.

"I want to wear black so I can be like Batgirl," Faith said leaning her head back so Buffy could pour the water over her hair.

"Okay Batgirl it's time to get out so we can go to Xander's," Buffy said reaching over to pull out the plug.

"Aww that was just a short bath," Faith pouted brushing some wet strands of hair out of her face, "I didn't even get to have a long swim at all."

"Bath time isn't for swimming Faithy it's for getting clean. You know since you love it so much maybe we should call you Aqua Girl," Buffy smirked taking a towel off the towel rack and wrapping it around Faith as she lifted her out. Gathering Faith up in the towel she carried her into the young girl's bedroom and sat her on the bed. Going to the closet she pulled out a pair of black shorts and black tank top with white spots on it for her to wear.

"How come I have to go to Xander's again?" Faith asked putting her hands up so Buffy could slip the shirt over her head.

"Grandpa Giles and I have to go looking for a demon and it's too dangerous for you to come," Buffy said rubbing the towel over Faith's hair to dry it off.

"But you said I'm your sidekick I should come with you," Faith said.

"Then Xander will get all lonely if you don't hang out with him, you wouldn't want him to be sad would you?" Buffy asked.

"I think Xander would cry if he got sad," Faith giggled.

"You're probably right," Buffy smirked.

***************************************************************************

"I don't think Xander is there B," Faith said as Buffy shifted her on her hip beginning to knock again.

"Grandpa Giles is not going to be impressed with me," Buffy sighed sitting down on the step settling Faith on her lap.

"He will have to go in time out if he gets angry at you because you haven't been bad," Faith said nodding her head her eyes wide. Buffy snorted, "Okay now I kind of hope he gets me in trouble just so I can see that," she laughed.

"Good morning girls, how are you this fine morning?" they looked up to see Xander, dressed in suit pants and a dress shirt, his hair neatly combed smiling down at them.

"Xander you look handsome," Faith said her mouth open in awe taking in his appearance.

"Thank you gorgeous, you don't look to shabby yourself, let me guess today you're Batgirl," he smiled lifting her up off Buffy's lap.

"Uh huh, B said I should be Acka Girl but I think Bat Girl is so much awesome," Faith said.

"Kind of like this Bat Girl?" Xander asked pulling an action figure from his pocket. Faith's eyes widened in excitement squealing in delight as she took the plastic figurine from him.

"B look at this," she said excitedly holding the figurine out to her sister who was still sitting on the steps.

"Very cool baby," Buffy smiled standing up, "and Xand look at you, dressed and groomed and it's not even lunch time."

"Of course, that would be a waste of precious productivity hours," Xander replied.

"Uh right, look I'm here to ask you a favour of the biggest kind. Giles and I need to go looking for Toth but I promised Mom I would be on Faith duty today, could you maybe watch her for a few hours for me?" Buffy asked.

"Sorry Buff no can do I have a job interview this morning down at the construction site," Xander said, "I did want to talk to you about something though Buff, demon related," he said indicating his head sideways at Faith.

"It's okay she knows remember, besides she's too busy playing with Bat Girl," Buffy said.

"Alright, well while I was out this morning I saw this, it must have been a demon, but Buffy it had my face," Xander said.

"It grabbed for your face I can't see any cuts or anything," Buffy said inspecting his face.

"No, no. He looked exactly like me," Xander said, "It stole my face. We have to find it, and we have to kill it."

"Maybe it's some sort of trans-whatever that word is demon, I'll get Giles to look it up when we go and see him. Don't worry, Xander. Whatever stole your face, it has to deal with the slayer now," Buffy said putting her hand reassuringly on his arm. The two chatted for a little while longer before Xander handed Faith back to Buffy. The younger Summers thanked him for her new toy and waved goodbye while the older wished him luck on his job interview and promised him they would work it all out.

No one noticed the scruffy looking Xander clone looking on despondently from the bushes.

***************************************************************************

"You're late again," Giles admonished his Slayer as she walked in pulling Faith along behind her.

"Not my fault, there was forgetfulness, bath time and a lack of babysitter that contributed to me being late," Buffy said.

"I thought we agreed you were going to be more diligent with your Slaying duties," Giles said.

"Grandpa Giles don't be mad at B she didn't be bad. Don't make me put you in time out young man," the toddler said pointing her finger at him. Buffy fought to keep her face straight as her Watcher looked mildly worried before a second before he realised who was threatening him and what he was being threatened with.

"I'm not mad at her love, but it's nice that you stick up for your sister," he said ruffling the young girl's hair.

"It's 'cause I'm her sidekick," Faith said wrapping her arms around Buffy's leg.

"Yeah you are baby," Buffy said swinging Faith up through the air, "now go and play on the couch while I talk to Grandpa Giles okay," she said kissing her on the forehead and placing her back on the floor.

Buffy told her Watcher what Xander had told her earlier in the day. They had moved their conversation over to the couch so they could keep an eye on Faith who was sitting on the floor in front of Buffy playing with her new action figure.

"What's intriguing me is that there are any number of demons with the ability to mimic a simple form, but, uh, this sounds like more than that," Giles said rubbing his temples.

"Toth!" Buffy exclaimed suddenly causing Faith to look up from her game in confusion, "It's gotta be! He hit Xander with that blast, and somehow it allowed him to take Xander's form. Couldn't that be what the creepy stick thing did?"

"Yes ... I suppose, yes, yes, it makes sense. A shape-shifting device," Giles said thoughtfully and getting up going over to his bookcase.

"Well we were going to go look for Toth anyways, I guess now I should be looking for Xander," Buffy said.

"Perhaps it would be wise to give the real Xander a call and advise him to stay in one place, it would be unfortunate if you were to uh dispose of the wrong one," Giles said handing her his phone. A quick call to Xander confirmed that he would be at the apartment they had visited the day before with Anya all evening. The British man agreed to watch Faith while Buffy went out looking for Toth and Buffy was in the process of loading up on weapons when the door to Giles' apartment flew open and a hurried looking Willow ran in her face flushed from running.

"Buffy, Toth looks like Xander," the red headed witch exclaimed leaning over placing a hand on her knees to catch her breath.

"We already know, Buffy is on her way out to go and find him now," Giles said from where he was sitting on the floor with Faith, a book in his hands.

"Wait a second, how did you know about this?" Buffy asked pausing in her weapon packing.

"He came to me. I mean Xander did. And he's in terrible shape, we need to help him," Willow replied straightening as she got her breath back and coming to sit on the couch.

"We sawed Xander and he gave me Bat Girl," Faith said from her position next to Giles on the floor, holding up the action figure for the red head to see.

"Cool Faithy," Willow smiled at the toddler before turning back to Buffy, "We each had a Xander. I mean, you didn't have a Xander, you had a, a demon in a Xander suit."

"What makes you so sure that yours is the right one?" Buffy asked leaving her packing and coming over to stand in front of her friend.

"He knew stuff! He, he did the Snoopy dance," Willow exclaimed.

"I can do the Snoopy dance," Faith said excitedly getting up off the floor and doing her version.

"Oh dear lord," Giles said as he looked down at his book, the other occupants of the room didn't acknowledge him. Buffy had picked Faith up and was giving her a hug as Willow explained more of what her Xander had said.

"I said oh dear lord," Giles said rather indignant that no one had paid him any attention.

"You always say that," Faith said to him and Buffy's eyes twinkled in amusement at Giles' indignation at her sister's comment.

"She's right you do say that at least a couple of times a day," she smirked.

"Well, it's always important!" Giles exclaimed standing up off the floor and showing Buffy a page in his book, "neither Xander is a demon," he continued as Willow got up off the couch and stood on Buffy's side so she could see.

"Um, is one of them a robot," the witch asked looking at him nervously.

"What? No. Um, uh, the rod device, it's called a ferula-gemina. It splits one person in half, distilling personality traits into two separate bodies. As near as I can tell, Toth was attempting to split the slayer into two different entities," Giles said handing the book to Buffy.

"Two Buffys?" Buffy asked.

"Yes. One with all the qualities inherent in Buffy Summers, and the other one with everything that belongs to the slayer alone, the, uh, the-the strength, the, uh, speed, the heritage. And when it hit Xander, I think it separated him into his strongest points and his weakest," Giles grimaced.

"But which one's the real one?" Buffy asked still somewhat confused.

"They're both real. They're both Xander. Neither one of them is evil. There's nothing in either of them that our Xander doesn't already possess," Giles explained.

"Why would he want to do that though. I mean one hundred percent Slayer Buffy concentrate would have to be pretty unstoppable," Willow frowned handing the book back to Giles.

"But the two halves can't exist without each other. Kill the weaker Buffy half, and the slayer half dies," Giles said. Faith whimpered as he said this throwing her arms around Buffy's neck and burying her face in her shoulder.

"Faithy?" Buffy questioned not understanding her sister's reaction, "baby what's wrong?"

"I don't want you to die," Faith said softly raising her head and looking at Buffy with tears shining brightly in her eyes.

"Baby I'm not going to die, Grandpa Giles was just trying to explain something to Willow, it's not actually what's going to happen, besides as my sidekick you'd find some way to protect me," Buffy said cupping Faith's cheek stroking the soft baby skin.

"Cause you're a superhero you're gonna be okay?" Faith asked her voice wavering slightly.

"That's right, I'm going to be fine and then when I come back we can see about going to that movie with Mom tonight," Buffy said smiling at her, "you're going to have to make sure Grandpa Giles doesn't get too scared while I'm gone so you're going to have to play lots of games with him."

"Okay," Faith said softly.

"So this whole one half can't survive without the other I assume that applies to the uh X shaped demon," Buffy said using the nickname to hopefully try and fool Faith. It seemed to work as the toddler didn't appear upset as she rested her head against Buffy's shoulder and played with the crucifix hanging around the blonde Slayer's neck.

"We lose one, we lose them both," Giles confirmed.

*************************************************************************

"Stupid heels," Buffy cursed as she raced up the stairwell of Xander's new apartment block. She had nearly tripped numerous times and was nearly considering taking them off if it didn't mean precious time would be wasted. She threw open the door to the apartment and stopped in shock when she saw the two Xander's facing off against one another, the neater looking one pointing a gun at the other, Anya standing in front of the non gun wielding Xander.

"Anya , get out of the way," gun toting Xander said his aim not wavering.

"Xander!" Buffy yelled at him.

"All right Buffy, I've got him," gun wielding Xander said smiling at the blonde Slayer and looking as if he had everything under control.

"No! Buffy! I'm me! Help me!" scruffy looking Xander said waving his arms frantically at his friend.

"Xander," Buffy said sighing when both looked at her expectantly, "gun-holding Xander, give me the gun," she said walking over to him and holding out her hand. Gun holding Xander disarmed the weapon emptying it of it's bullets before handing it to Buffy.

"Buffy, which one's real?" Anya asked looking between the two Xander's.

"I am," they both answered at the same time glaring at each other. Buffy sighed and shoved them none too gently so that they were standing side by side.

"You've been split in two. But you're both Xander. And you *can't* kill each other. Um, well, you could, but it would be really bad," she said.

The two Xander's looked at each other their heads tilting the same way as they regarded each other with fascination.

"No way," clean cut Xander said regarding his clone with disgust.

"He can't be me, he's all fancy," scruffy Xander said waving his hand up and down the other and motioning towards his clothing.

"Do something to prove that they're both Xander," Anya said.

"Ohh yeah good idea," Buffy said brightening, "wait how?" she asked her face falling.

"There has to be a way," Anya sighed exasperatedly, "how am I supposed to know, you're the almighty Slayer."

"Ooh! What number am I thinking of?" Buffy asked the Xander clones.

"That's all the almighty Slayer can come up with! Like that's going to work," Anya said rolling her eyes.

"Eleven and a half," both Xander's replied in unison.

"Wrong. Oh! But see?" Buffy said.

"No. We're not the same. We're all different," suit wearing Xander said refusing to believe the uncouth man in front of him could possibly be his clone.

"Different properties went into each of you, but you're both Xander," Buffy replied.

"Different properties?" Anya asked tilting her head as she regarded the two Xanders.

"Uh, uh, you know, uh, sense of direction. Good night vision, stuff like that," Buffy said shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay, isn't anyone gonna tell me why there are two Xanders?" Anya asked.

"I will on the way to Giles'. Let's go," Buffy told her.

The three turned in surprise as the front door smashed open revealing the glowing faced Toth whose robe billowed out around him.

"Oh great. Rod boy," Buffy sighed.

"I will not miss again Slayer," Toth growled raising his and pointing it towards her. He fired the red blast at her but she managed to roll out of the way just in time, the beam hitting the floor, causing the carpet to smoulder.

"Hey, I just made a small cleaning deposit!" clean cut Xander exclaimed as Anya hid behind him.

Grabbing her sword as she came out of her forward roll Buffy advanced on the demon swinging her sword in front of her. As she comes closer she kicks him a few times before he manages to pick her up and slam her to the floor making her drop her sword. As he approaches her again she kicks upwards catching him on the chin and causing him to stumble back grunting in pain. She delivers a series of roundhouse kicks and a powerful uppercut which causes Toth to fall to the floor.

"Sword!" Buffy yelled and catches the weapon as suit wearing Xander threw it towards her. Before the demon has a chance to recover she slams it down into it's chest leaning heavily against it as she catches her breath.

"Oh yeah, that cleaning deposits gone," clean cut Xander remarked as he, Anya and scruffy Xander came to inspect the dead demon.

"I was thinking the same thing! Hey, do you suppose we're both Xander?" scruffy Xander said looking at his clone.

************************************************************************

Giles knelt on the floor of the Magic Shop drawing symbols on the floor in chalk. The two Xanders have changed into the same outfits although the difference between the two is still evident. Scruffy Xander held Faith in his arms as the toddler looked at them both in awe.

"They're the same Faithy look, there's a scar here," Buffy said pointing to scruffy Xander's forehead, "and the same one right here," she said pointing at clean cut Xander's forehead.

"It's all double," Willow said pointing at scruffy Xander, "this zit, and this kinda funny dippy thing," she continued moving on to clean cut Xander. The toddler regarded the two Xander's with some hesitation before leaning over and placing her hands on suave Xander's cheeks squishing them together and then leaning back over and pulling scruffy Xander's out painfully.

"Okay! Back off, ladies," scruffy Xander said wincing as he pulled back out of her grasp.

"Woah," was all Faith said as scruffy Xander handed her back to Buffy.

"Pretty cool huh, but we have to put them back together," Buffy said.

"So you Xanders really do have all the same memories, all the same uh, physical attributes?" Anya asked looking down suggestively.

"We're completely identical," clean cut Xander stated proudly.

"Well, maybe we shouldn't do this reintegration thing right away. See, I can take the boys home, and, we can all have sex together, and you know, just slap 'em back together in the morning," Anya said turning to face the others. Buffy and Giles looked appalled with Buffy trying to work out how to cover Faith's ears with only one free hand as she still held the toddler in her arms.

"She's joking," clean cut Xander reasoned.

"No she's not! She entirely wants to have sex with us together. Which is, wrong, and, and it would be very confusing," scruffy Xander replied.

"Guys Faith!" Buffy said still struggling to cover Faith's ears. The toddler for her part seemed completely disinterested in what they were talking about her Bat Girl figurine now holding her interest.

"Uh, uh, we just need to light the candles. Also, we should continue to pretend we heard none of the disturbing sex talk," Giles said getting up from the floor and beginning to light the candles that surrounded the symbol drawn on the floor.

"Check. Candles and pretence," Willow smirked at the older man's obvious discomfort.

"It's not like it would be cheating," Anya continued her musings.

"Will spell spell do the spell," Buffy said hurriedly looking down at Faith and trying to stop the conversation going on any further.

"Okay well it's not that hard. Your natural state is to be together. Toth's spell is doing all the work of keeping you apart. I just have to break it. So you two stand right here. Side by side. We don't want you to end up with two fronts, now do we?" Willow said taking the two Xander's by the elbow and positioning them next to each other inside the magic circle.

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" suave Xander asked nervously.

"Here we go. Brace yourselves," Willow exhaled closing her eyes.

***************************************************************************

"It was pretty cool one moment there was two Xander's the next there was one," Buffy said to her mother as they walked towards the movie theatre.

"It would be fun if there was two Faify's," Faith mused from between her mother and sister.

"I think one Faithy is enough for now," Joyce smiled gathering her youngest up and resting her on her hip.

"I think B would like it if there were two of me, wouldn't you B," Faith said turning to Buffy.

"Then you would have to share me, I wouldn't be able to spend as much time with you I'd have to spend some with the other Faith," Buffy reasoned.

"Maybe only one Faify then," Faith decided.

"Probably for the best," Joyce smiled.

**A/N: Please let me know what you're thinking. I hope you're not getting bored, the plot's going to start getting interesting so stay with me. **


	5. Chapter 5

"Mama when am I gonna be allowed to go out with B?" Faith asked her mother as Joyce buttoned up the young girl's pyjama top.

"When you're much older," Joyce replied doing up the last button.

"But I'm B's sidekick, Xander says I'm like Robin and Batman always takes Robin with him when he goes to be a superhero," Faith said hopping up onto her bed.

"Well Batman wants to keep Robin safe so he goes out on some missions on his own," Joyce said pulling the blanket up under Faith's chin and dropping a kiss to her forehead.

"I bet B has lots of fun when she goes out," Faith pouted tucking her stuffed cow Mr. Darcy under one arm and stuffed alligator Al under the other.

************************************************************************************************

"Oh this is so not fun," Buffy said to herself, dusting vampire dust off of her jacket. She pocketed her stake and looked around the abandoned factory she had ended up in after chasing down her last vampire, "for once I would love to slay a vampire and end up somewhere a little more scenic."

She jumped through the first through the first story window and landed deftly on her feet, straightening up and walking towards the chain link fence that would let her out of the factory compound.

"Hey!" Buffy turned reaching for her stake instinctively lowering her hands when she realised it was only the overweight night watchmen who was waddling towards her.

"Miss, if you're looking for one of those rave parties, I'm afraid you're late. Chased a bunch of kids out of here last night," he puffed as he reached her.

Buffy sighed inwardly relieved that he hadn't seen her dust that last vampire. Explaining that she was a late raver was certainly much more acceptable then she was s supernatural warrior born to fight the forces of darkness.

"Oh, right. Yeah. Darn. My fellow ravers will be so disappointed. It was my turn to bring the Bundt cake," she covered, squinting her eyes as he shone his bright torch light into her face.

"You know, if it was my call, I'd let you do whatever you want. It's not like anybody's using this place or nothin'. But they just don't pay me enough to argue with the boss so," he motioned towards the fence.

"Already gone," Buffy smiled at him gratefully turning again to leave.

"Hey, wait, hold it miss you forgot your, whatever this is," the man said bending down to retrieve an item from the floor. Buffy looked at the thing in confusion. It was a round orb a little larger than a baseball and it was glowing a deep red colour casting an eerie shadow over their faces.

"Thank you," Buffy said frowning as she turned the orb over in her hand.

"Glow balls, huh?," the watchman chuckled, "I swear, I don't get your generation. What is that thing?"

"I'll let you know as soon as I find out," Buffy said distractedly.

************************************************************************************************

"Faithy you have to be quiet this is a surprise for Mom," Buffy said to her sister who was in charge of getting cutlery out of the drawer. The blonde Slayer was staying true to her vendetta of keeping her mother's life as stress free as possible after her medical scare and was preparing breakfast in bed for Joyce.

"I'm just tryna help," Faith pouted pulling the correct utensils out of the drawer and hopping down off the chair and walking over to where Buffy was arranging food on a tray and hopping up onto the chair there so she could see what she was doing.

Buffy turned to grab something from the other counter, "I know you are baby but I made Mom a nice non-instant breakfast and I didn't burn it for once and I don't want you," the blonde Slayer is interrupted by a crash and whirls around to see Faith looking guiltily at a vase she has knocked over while trying to put the cutlery on the tray.

"Whoops," the toddler said.

"Doing that," Buffy finished wincing as she saw the toddler try and clean up the mess spreading the water further. The two girls looked up when Joyce walked through the kitchen door a smile on her face when she saw the platter they had prepared.

"Check out the pamper mom platter," she said lifting Faith up into her arms and giving the toddler a kiss, "did you two do all of this?" she asked the young girl.

"Uh huh and B helped too," Faith said nodding her head enthusiastically.

"I did more than help," Buffy said trying to fix the platter.

"I'm sure you did," Joyce said absently sitting down on one of the barstools, settling Faith on her lap, "So Buffy you're not pregnant, failing or under indictment and Faithy you haven't broken anything, lost anything or drawn on anything?" Faith shook her head and Buffy gave her mother an amused look, "Just checking," Joyce smiled.

"Well we knew you've been stressed lately so," Buffy said waving her hand over the platter.

"Yes the stress headaches have returned and they've bought along a few friends to the party," Joyce said smiling gratefully as her eldest placed the platter in front of her.

"Well what did the doctor say?" Buffy asked. After Joyce had collapsed the doctor had ordered that she make a return visit for a check up to make sure she was taking it easy.

"Oh, take four of some-pills a day and come back for tests if it gets any worse," Joyce replied giving Faith a mock glare as the toddler stole some of the bacon off of her plate.

"So they don't know what's wrong?" Buffy asked frowning as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"No, not yet," Joyce said cutting a piece of bacon for Faith and feeding it to her so the young girl didn't use her hands anymore.

"Well, that's unacceptable. I think we should get a second opinion," Buffy replied putting her hands on her hips.

"Okay well we'll go right now," Buffy said going over to where their keys were hanging.

"Buffy, I know you're concerned, okay? But don't be. I'm still the mom. Which means I get to worry about you two. Which is a good thing because you're a Vampire Slayer. And you, you are my little pumpkin belly," Joyce said tickling Faith's stomach which was round in that adorable way that most toddlers stomachs were.

"Mama," Faith laughed trying to push her mother's hand away, "you can't call me that I'm a big girl," the toddler said trying to sound stern.

"You'll always be the baby to me," Joyce said giving Faith a sloppy wet kiss. Buffy couldn't help the twinge of jealously that niggled at her stomach. Moments like these when she saw the bond that had developed between her mother and Faith she couldn't help but feel a little envious. Of course as soon as these thoughts popped into her head she immediately felt guilty about seeing both of the other Summers girls so obviously happy.

"What are you doing here anyways? I thought Mr. Giles had that special sale going on at the magic shop," Joyce asked her eldest as she fed Faith another spoonful of eggs.

"Right, I get to be all retail gal today, big with the selling," Buffy said.

"So go, bring me back a, oh I don't know a flying broomstick or something," Joyce said looking over her shoulder at Buffy.

"Wilwow said she can't fly," Faith told her mother, "and she's a magic fairy."

"Is that right. Maybe at the movies tonight we'll have to see a movie about a witch to see," Joyce smiled at the toddler.

"Oh yeah," Faith nodded her head enthusiastically as she accepted another bite from Joyce.

"You guys are going to the movies without me!" Buffy said incredulously receiving funny looks from Faith and Joyce, "Okay, I'm gonna go. I will be back later," she said, "What time is your doctor's appointment?" she asked her mother receiving an exasperated look in return, "I just want to know, take it easy. I want you to relax all day, keep your feet up and plenty of Oprah," she said giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.

"And we can play tag outside and play superheros and go exploring in the garden," Faith said her eyes lighting up at the prospect. Realising that with Faith at home with her Joyce was going to get none of the rest she had been prescribed Buffy reached down and picked her sister up off of Joyce's lap.

"You're coming with me," Buffy said to her sister as they walked towards the front door, Joyce smirking in the background. She knew exactly what Buffy was doing and she was a little grateful for her eldest perceptiveness. Whilst she loved Faith and enjoyed spending time with her, these headaches had really been taking a lot out of her and she wanted to nip them in the bud before they got any worse.

"But B I'm still in my jamas," Joyce laughed as she heard Faith whine when Buffy raced out the front door.

***********************************************************************************************

"But B before you told me everyone would laugh at me if I wore my jamas outside and now I'm gonna look silly," Faith whined as the two of them entered the Magic Shop. She hadn't stopped complaining that Buffy had whisked her out the door before she had a chance to change out of her monkey pyjamas the entire walk to the shop.

"Well you won't look as silly as that," Buffy looked at her Watcher in disbelief. Giles was standing in front of them wearing a long purple velvet robe covered in tiny silver stars. On his head he wore a pointed wizard's hat that matched the robe and his face was held in a creepily happy smile.

"Grandpa Giles you look like the crazy man who sells phones on the TV," Faith said giggling as she took in the older man's outfit.

"That's what I was going for," he said the smile not leaving his face.

"So when does the place open for customers, big sale I bet they'll be lining up outside," Buffy said.

"Since nine this morning," Giles said his face falling as he took of his hat dejectedly.

Buffy bent over and put Faith on the floor, "Faithy go and have a look at stuff, but remember,"

"Don't touch," Faith finished rolling her eyes dramatically at Buffy.

"I'm not worried, it's not like I've poured my entire life's savings into this place, I mean it's Sunnydale, monsters, magic, supply and demand I'm sure I'll be run off my feet in no time," Giles said.

"You'll be making money in no time," Buffy said looking around as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Are you alright? You seem a little distracted," Giles said taking off the rest of his costume and focusing entirely on his Slayer.

"It's just my mom's still sick and we have no idea what the deal is," Buffy said looking around to make sure Faith wasn't getting into any trouble.

"I thought she was alright?" Giles questioned.

"Well the stress thing is a no go because I've made sure she's been off her feet but she's been getting these headaches," Buffy paused as she saw Faith reach her hand out for something. The blonde Slayer was ready to step in but smiled softly to herself when she saw the toddler shake her head slightly and retract her hand obviously thinking better of it.

"Is she getting medical attention?" Giles asked.

"Yeah. We have a highly trained medical staff working 'round the clock to tell us diddly," Buffy sighed again, obviously frustrated. She liked to be in control of things and hated not knowing what, if anything was wrong with her mother.

"I'm sorry. Still, you know, time and patience, both great comforts," Giles said placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. They both looked up in surprise as an excited Willow rushed through the door, Tara lagging a little behind. The red headed witches excited expression fell when she spotted the British Watcher.

"Giles, where's your hat and cloak?" she asked him.

"The hype was unbelievable," Tara smiled, teasing her girlfriend earning her a mock glare from Willow.

"Wilwow! Tawa!" Faith squealed excitedly when she spotted the two witches racing over and throwing herself at Willow. The red head laughed as she picked her up, "Faithy why are you still in your pyjamas? Is it washing day?"

"No B went crazy before we left and wouldn't let me change and now I look silly," Faith pouted.

"You don't look silly sweetie," Tara said and Faith smiled at her over Willow's shoulder.

"Yeah I do, and I didn't even get to finish my food that we made for Mama and I don't even have any shoes on," Faith said throwing her legs out so they could see. Buffy shrugged her shoulders sheepishly she hadn't actually realised that her sister had been barefoot.

"Sorry Faithy we'll sort that out soon but I do actually have a Scooby-centric deal to deal with first," Buffy said pulling the glowing orb out of her bag and showing it to her friends, "I put it before the group, what the hell is it?"

"Wicked," Faith said reaching her hands out for it and pouting when Buffy pulled it firmly out of reach.

"Well it appears to be paranormal in origin," Giles said readjusting his glasses so he could get a better look at it.

"How can you tell?" Willow asked her eyes transfixed to the glowing ball of light.

"Well it's so shiny," Giles replied taking the orb from Buffy.

"I found it on patrol last night," Buffy told him.

"I wasn't allowed to go," Faith said to Tara who Willow had passed her too so she could get a better look at the orb.

"I bet it wasn't that exciting anyway?" Tara replied placing the young girl down.

"But then B ruined the special food we made for Mama, it tasted funny," Faith said scrunching up her nose.

"What! I ruined, it was you, and you didn't look like it tasted bad when you were guzzling it down off Mom's plate," Buffy said as Faith wondered off towards the front of the shop. Buffy gritted her teeth and took a deep breath trying to calm herself before going to follow Faith stopping only when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Buffy wait, what's going on with you?" Willow asked.

"Argh I don't know suddenly I'm super jealous girl and she is so annoying. Especially now that Mom's sick. She's gets to be all over her while I have to be the grown-up and the two of them are like the cuddle twins and why can't I ever be Lil Pumpkin Belly?" Buffy said beginning to pace.

"While I don't feel qualified to address the last part, I can tell you that Faith's not just the youngest, she's the baby and maybe your mom needs that right now. And as for the grown-up part, she's four Buffy you are the grown-up, she doesn't know what's going on, you can't expect her to act any differently," Willow reasoned reaching out to touch her friends shoulder to stop the pacing.

"I hate being the grown-up, it's bad but Will, sometimes when things get bad I wish I was an only child again," Buffy said hanging her head in shame, looking up only when a crash from the front of the shop interrupted them.

"Whoops," they heard Faith say and Buffy gave Willow a knowing glance before going to see what her sister had broken this time.

************************************************************************************************

"I didn't mean too and Grandpa Giles didn't look that angry, he didn't make funny sounds this time," Faith said as they walked through the front door.

"I know you didn't, now remember what we talked about Mom's trying to rest so sssh," Buffy said putting a finger to her lips, the toddler in her arms mirroring her actions, "Mom?" the blonde Slayer called looking around. A low moan from the living room makes her whirl around quickly and race into the living room.

"Mom!" Buffy said as she took in her mother's pale complexion. Joyce was lying on the couch with one arm slung over her eyes. Buffy placed Faith on the coffee table and knelt down next to the couch.

"Mama what's wrong?" Faith asked her voice trembling.

"It's just my head," Joyce replied weakly pulling her arm away from her eyes and looking at her daughters.

"I'm taking you to the doctors," Buffy said standing and going to pull her mother off the couch.

"No sweetheart I'm fine really," Joyce said sitting up slowly wincing as she tried to get her bearings. Faith who seemed much happier now that Joyce was sitting scrambled off the coffee table and climbed up onto her mother's lap.

"We don't know that. We don't know anything. We're going," Buffy said not able to keep the panicked tone that laced her voice.

"I just need my prescription. Please?" Joyce said looking up at Buffy pleadingly as she wrapped her arms tighter around Faith's middle.

"Hospital pharmacy open?" Buffy asked resignedly picking up the prescription.

"Mmm-hmm," Joyce said as she leaned back against the couch stroking her hands softly over Faith's hair.

Buffy looked at the two of them longingly for a moment before shaking herself out of her reverie.

"Ten minutes," she said before turning and leaving determined that it would take her no longer than that.

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There was no line at the hospital pharmacy but Buffy couldn't stop the impatient taping of her heel as she waited for her mother's prescription to be filled. Whether it was nervousness or anger she couldn't tell but her leg just wouldn't stay still. She didn't even stop to smile a thank you at the pharmacist who handed her the bottle of pills before she was racing off back down the hallway towards the exit. She took her eyes off her destination for a second to read the back of the bottle and found herself rebounding off something solid. Looking up slightly dazed from the floor she found she had run into a sandy haired man wearing nurses scrubs who was currently giving her a strange expression while rubbing his chin where her head had connected with.

"I'm so sorry it must be clumsy Buffy time of the month," Buffy said getting up from the floor hurriedly, "are you okay, nothing's broken right?"

"No I think my limbs are still all intact, although you have a very hard head I think your skull just gave me a chin reconstruction," the nurse smiled at her indicating that he was joking.

"Well at least I know if my current profession doesn't work out I can always fall back on a career of comestic surgery," Buffy said.

"I'm Ben," the nurse said sticking his hand out, "as your first patient thought I should introduce myself."

"Buffy," she replied shaking his hand, "I bill by the hour," she finished smirking.

A patient being wheeled by on a gurney caught Buffy's attention and her eyes widened when she realised it was the night watchman from the factory.

"I don't belong here. I have important instructions," the watchman said sitting up from the gurney and trying to get off. Ben rushed to help the orderlies who were in charge of the man. The night watchman struggled against them, his larger stature making it difficult for them to try and put the restraints on his arms and legs.

"Now you're hurting the nice orderly who's here to help you," Ben said to him turning to face another nurse "I need nine cc's of Phenobarbital in this guy n..." his expression changed to one of shock as Buffy stepped up and used one arm to push the night watchman back onto his bed, her hand still on his shoulder to restrain him, "or not," Ben finished looking at her in confusion.

Buffy watched in fascination as the orderlies strapped the man to the bed. Last night he had been fine, no sign of the crazies and now it was if he had lost his mind overnight. She flinched and tried to pull herself out of his grasp as he grabbed at her hand, holding it impossibly tight for someone who was restrained and without the super powers.

"Doesn't even help, doesn't make a difference," the watchman said staring intently at the pill bottle in her hand.

"I've met this guy, he's a security guard. He's not crazy," Buffy said looking at Ben for an explanation.

"If you say so," Ben said rather sceptically.

"They're coming at you. Don't think you're above it, missy. They come through the family! They get to your family!" the watchman yelled letting go of her arm causing the pill bottle to clatter to the floor.

"My family, what do you mean?" Buffy asked trying to grab at him as the orderlies wheeled him away.

"Sorry about that," Ben said making Buffy jump as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "here don't forget these," he said handing her the bottle of pills that had fallen on the floor.

"Uh thanks, they're for my Mom," Buffy said absently taking the bottle from him, her eyes still glued on the door that the watchman had been taken through.

"Is she not well?" Ben asked.

"Not yet but she will be. I'm starting to figure out what's wrong," Buffy said walking off determinedly down the corridor.

************************************************************************************************

Giles and Anya were having a rather heated discussion about the price of conjuring powder when Buffy rushed in through the door to the Magic Shop not pausing to apologise to the couple she nearly bowled over in the process.

"Giles, I have an idea what's making my mom sick," she said grabbing his arm as she passed him and dragging him down towards the table in the middle of the room.

"Have you spoken with her doctors?" Giles asked her.

"They won't find anything. What's hurting her it's supernatural," she said picking up the orb so showed it to Willow and Anya who had joined Giles and herself, "The night watchman who found this thing? He went crazy, like overnight," she said causing Giles, Willow and Anya to take a few steps back.

"It won't hurt us. I had it on me all night. But this guy, he saw things, he said things," Buffy said excitedly, the prospect of being able to fix what was wrong with her mother cheering her up considerably.

"Such as?" Giles asked.

"They'll come at me through my family," Buffy replied.

"Who will?" Giles asked. He had an inkling that his Slayer was grasping at straws but he wasn't going to be the one to shatter her hopes just yet when there was the slightest possibility that she was correct.

"I don't know yet. But whatever touched this guy, it made him see through what the rest of us are seeing. He knew someone's hurting my mom and they're trying to get to me," she said looking to her Watcher for confirmation.

"It's possible but still the ramblings of a madman aren't much to go on," Giles said taking his glasses off and rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah, but it's a start. We need to find out who's making my mom sick and how," Buffy said determinedly.

"Then what?" Willow asked a little scared to jump in when her friend so obviously had her mind made up about this.

"Then I hunt them, find them and kill them," Buffy said her jaw set.

************************************************************************************************

Buffy opened the front door to her house hastily as if she expected whatever it was that was hurting her mother to be there. Rushing into the living room she stopped short when she saw her mother and Faith still on the couch where she had left them. They were lying down now and Joyce had one arm wrapped around Faith's middle the other was stroking the toddler's hair. Faith had her eyes closed and her thumb in her mouth, her other hand was resting on top of Joyce's and Joyce who was staring at the television screen didn't even notice her eldest daughter's appearance in the doorway.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked looking around the room for any sign of danger.

"Ssh," her mother replied indicating Faith, "the headache is still there but it's not quite as bad as before."

"I'm sorry I took so long, there was a uh, something went on at the hospital but it's all good now," she reassured Joyce, "I'll be back I'll get you some water for these."

"I'm glad to see you took my Oprah suggestion seriously," Buffy commented when she came back into the room noting the show on the television.

"Sometimes you have very good advice," her mother teased as she detangled herself from Faith taking the pills and glass of water from Buffy and handing them back when she was done.

"Do you want me to take her upstairs?" Buffy asked indicating Faith.

"No she's alright, it's nice having someone to snuggle with," Joyce said smiling softly down at the slumbering toddler, stroking her hair again.

"She is quite the cuddly one," Buffy said smiling down at her sister fondly. The toddler looked so cute while asleep and it was hard to remember that she had been annoyed and jealous earlier in the day. The shrill ringing of the telephone dragged her away from the living room as she raced to get it before whoever was on the other end hung up.

"Buffy? Oh, I'm glad I've caught you. I think we may have underestimated what we're dealing with," Giles' voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"What did you learn?" Buffy asked.

"We've uncovered more than expected about this orb. It's called the Dagon Sphere and it has a history going back many centuries," Giles said the unmistakable signs of the cash register sounding in the background.

"What's it do?" Buffy asked intrigued.

"It's a protective device, used to ward off ancient primordial evil," Giles replied.

"Any word on what this evil looks like?" Buffy asked leaning around so she could see her mother and Faith in the living room.

"Unfortunately, no. This is where accounts get vague. All we've managed to uncover so far is the Dagon Sphere was created to repel That Which Cannot Be Named," Giles said and Buffy could hear him flipping the pages of a book.

"I'm going to go back to the factory where I found it. Whoever planted this doohickey's got answers," she said.

"Buffy, you've heard me say this before but do be careful. Anything

that goes unnamed is usually an object of deep worship or great fear, maybe both," Giles said.

"I will I promise, I'll call you if I find anything," Buffy said hanging up the phone. She grabbed her jacket before returning to the living room.

"Are you going out again?" Joyce asked her daughter.

"Yeah I've got some Slayer stuff to do, I should be back before dark," she said putting her arms in her jacket, "you stay on this couch wake Faith if you need anything," Buffy said and her mother snorted in laughter.

"What she can get you stuff," Buffy said frowning.

"I know she can, but I'm not going to wake her to get me a glass of water," Joyce smirked.

"Well if she doesn't wake up before you want the water I want you to, you're meant to be resting not her," Buffy pouted.

"We'll be fine, go and do your Slayer work and then come home and we'll have a nice dinner, which I will be cooking," Joyce said stopping Buffy who was about to interrupt her.

"Ugh, fine, but at least stay on the couch until I get home," she said leaning down and placing a kiss on Faith's forehead and then her mother's cheek.

"Be careful," her mother called as she left the room.

************************************************************************************************

The insides of the factory building were dark and dusty and Buffy was glad she had brought a flashlight along with her. Flicking it on her eyes widened in horror when she saw the huge gaping hole in the wall, a mess of wires and mangled metal hanging around it. Whatever had done that much damage was obviously huge and she really didn't want to run into it tonight. Knowing that it is her mother's safety that is hanging in the balance she squared her shoulders and walked carefully through the hole and deeper into the factory.

Shining her torch through the room her breath caught in her throat when she saw a badly beaten man strapped to a chair his head was hanging low and the faint dripping of blood hitting the floor penetrated the otherwise silent room. As she rushed closer she could make out his clothes, his shaved head and brown robe indicating that he was a monk.

"It was you who planted the Dagon Sphere, right? I got it. Don't worry. I'm stronger than I look," she rushed as she bent to undo the ropes binding him to the chair. With her back turned to the door she didn't see the blonde woman who was creeping silently up behind her.

"I have had experience with stuff like this before. Best of all," she whirled around and grabbed the woman by the throat, the widening of the monks eyes alerting her to the woman's presence at the last minute, "I'm not stupid."

The blonde woman who she could see was dressed in a formal red dress and matching high heels rolled her eyes at the Slayer before wrenching Buffy's hands off from around her throat and throwing her across the room causing Buffy to slam painfully into the concrete wall, leaving a Buffy shaped dent in the wall. Leaning heavily on her hands Buffy looked up at the woman in stunned amazement, she had never in her Slaying career experienced anything that had this sort of power or strength. Before she had a chance to fully recover the blonde woman strode the distance across the room and grabbed Buffy by her shoulders throwing her across the room again and Buffy couldn't help the painful groan that escaped her lips as the breathe was knocked from her lungs.

"And another thing? I just want you to know," the woman was there again in a blink of an eye whipping Buffy up and smashing her against a concrete pillar, "The whole 'beat ya to death' thing I'm doing? It's valuable time out of life that I'm never gonna get back," she said. Buffy made an attempt to fight back but before her punches even had the chance to connect the blonde woman had grabbed her arms tightly and pulled them painfully downward. Buffy cried out in pain as the woman continued talking as if the Slayer hadn't been trying to beat her head in, "Wait, I've always wanted to try this. You know that thing with worms where if you have one, you rip it in half, you got two worms? Do you think that'll work with you?"

Buffy grit her teeth against the pain in her arms and slammed her head into the other woman's grateful that the shock of the tiny Slayer actually trying to attack her made the curly haired woman to let the shorter woman go.

"You hit me! What, are you crazy?" the curly haired woman said incredulously recovering from each of Buffy's blows as if she were offended the Slayer would even dare to attack her. Blocking the next of Buffy's punches and swinging the Slayer around so that Buffy's back was pressed up against the concrete wall. Anticipating the woman's next move Buffy ducked her head at the last minute the woman's fist missing her by mere centimetres and slamming into the wall behind burying itself deep in the wall. Frustrated by this the curly haired woman grabbed Buffy by the throat lifting her feet off the wall.

"I just noticed something. You have super powers. That is so cool. Can you fly?" Buffy's eyes widened as the woman finished speaking and found herself sailing through the air and slamming into the opposite wall. Struggling to her feet she shook her head to try and clear the fuzziness that was threatening to overtake her vision. Looking up she noticed the monk and realised that this man may have the answers that she needed. Racing towards the man she rips him out of the chair and throws his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey! Hands off my holy man," the curly haired woman yelled realising what Buffy was doing.

Throwing the monk over her shoulder Buffy ran towards the window praying that she would make it before the curly haired woman reached them. Turning so that her back would crash through the glass she threw herself at the window grunting in pain as her back hit the hard ground below. Not sparing a glance for the factory behind her she grabbed the monk up again and ran towards the chain link fence that would lead them away from the factory. The roar of the building collapsing behind them made them stop and turn the rush of debris flying towards them made Buffy start to move again supporting the injured monk.

"Stop please," the monk wheezed, the amount of weight he was leaning on Buffy growing as they made their way across the parking lot.

"No. We have to keep going," Buffy said pulling him along practically supporting his whole body now. They stumbled along a little further until they reached the chain link fence and the monk collapsed against the metal.

"My journey's done, I think," he gasped, his eyes sinking briefly closed.

"Don't get metaphory on me. We're going," Buffy said trying to pull him to his feet but he pushed her hands off.

"You have to, the Key. You are, must protect the Key," the monk wheezed his eyes sinking closed again.

"Fine. We can protect the Key together, okay, just far, far from here," Buffy said looking behind her checking to see if the curly haired woman was following. Happy that she wasn't she tried again unsuccessfully to pull the monk to his feet.

"Many more will die, if, if you're," he gasped breathing deeply, "Not not safe."

"What, why? What is it?" Buffy asked her curiosity stopping her from trying to move the monk any further.

"The Key is energy from the twice blessed. It's a portal, it opens a door," the monk gasper his head drooping heavily onto the concrete wall behind him.

"The Dagon Sphere?" Buffy asked remembering the glowing red orb she had found.

"No. For centuries it had no form at all. My brethren, it's only keepers. Then the abomination found us. We had to hide the key, it's essence, in a warrior, we knew would protect it," he said his eyes drooping closed again.

"The Slayer," Buffy said her eyes widening in realisation.

"We knew the Slayer was strong, would be able to protect herself," the monk coughed.

"You cannot abandon," he wheezed.

"This key you put it in me," Buffy asked incredulously, "this Thing that Cannot Be Named is going to come after me through my family. I didn't ask for this, they didn't ask for this, this is my life you're playing with," she yelled.

"Not family, must protect the Key," the monk breathed out his breath shuddering through his body. Buffy stared at him as his last breath coursed through his body his eyes glassy as he stared straight in front of him.

************************************************************************************************

She didn't hurry home like she had promised her mother she would. She had too many thoughts running through her mind the way the monk had spoken convinced her something she had known all along but had never wanted to accept. She hadn't even realised it was dark until she saw the street lights were on in Revello Drive. Opening the front door to her house she smiled when she heard Faith's voice coming from the living room. Going deeper into the house she stopped and watched as her sister played on the floor with her stuffed animals. Joyce was still lying on the couch behind her, her eyes closed and the steady rise and fall of her chest indicating that she was asleep.

Faith looked up and smiled when she saw Buffy in the doorway, "Hey B," she said quietly.

"Hey baby," Buffy said going to sit on the floor next to her and pulling the young girl onto her lap. They sat in silence relishing each other's touch Buffy stroked Faith's hair with one hand and the toddler played with the rings on her other hand.

"B?" Faith turned and looked to look at the blonde girl.

"Yeah Faithy?" Buffy asked smiling softly at the seriousness in the younger girl's eyes.

"What's wrong with Mama?" Faith asked. Buffy smiled sadly this time, Faith was more perceptive than she had given her credit for.

"I don't know baby," Buffy said leaning forward and giving Faith a kiss, "I don't know."

**A/N: Review please. My longest chapter yet. **


	6. Chapter 6

"You say he said he put it in you," Giles asked again trying to wrap his head around what Buffy was telling him. The two of them sat alone in the Summers living room and Giles got the distinct impression that his Slayer wanted very badly to get up and pace but was containing herself.

"He said they put it in a warrior, the Slayer because she could protect it, protect herself," Buffy sighed, "I don't like this Giles, the fact that I have this energy inside of me that unlocks some portal not to mention some crazy strong woman, with a great taste in clothes I should add is in town."

"It is of course entirely possible that the two are linked," Giles said taking off his glasses and scratching his head.

"It would explain why she was beating on that monk guy," Buffy replied.

"This woman, this whatever she is, she knows you now, should you be thinking of going away for awhile until she leaves town?" Giles asked.

"I can't, this guy said that she'll come to me through my family, I have to be here to protect Mom and Faith," Buffy said finally giving in to her restlessness and getting up off the couch to pace across the living room.

"We have to find out who this woman is, what she intends to use the uh energy for," Giles said.

"And what exactly this Key is used for, I mean I don't like the fact that I can unlock a mystical something or other with my uh essence I think, but for all we know it unlocks a portal to a land full of fluffy bunnies," she smirked for a second as she considered this, "which I guess would be Anya's personal version of hell."

"Yes well, now that we have something more to go on I suppose researching this may become a little easier," Giles said.

"We should tell the others and my Mom," Buffy said, "if this thing, woman is going to come at me through them they should be aware what to look out for."

"Yes that is probably wise," Giles agreed.

"This woman, she, I mean she doesn't know it's in me does she? I mean I was right there she could have unlocked me," she said uncertainly.

"I would assume she doesn't know that was probably her reasoning behind torturing the monk to try and ascertain where it was precisely the brethren have hidden the Key," Giles said.

Buffy looked towards the stairs as the humming in the base of her spine intensified. Her gaze softened when she realised it was only Faith. The toddler was standing there rubbing her eyes sleepily, her hair a total mess.

"Grandpa Giles?" she said her face screwed up in confusion when she noticed the older man.

"Faith child, what are you doing awake at this hour?" he asked as she walked towards them.

"I woked up but then I couldn't sleep again and I heard talkin' downstairs so I came down here to see," Faith said climbing up onto his lap, "how come you're here anyways when it's so dark?"

"I was just telling Grandpa Giles about my patrol tonight," Buffy told her.

"Because you're the Slayer and he's your Watcher?" Faith asked. Joyce and Buffy had explained to her earlier about what a Slayer was after the young girl had questioned them again about it.

"That's right, when I go out on patrol and there are demons or something special happens I tell Grandpa Giles about it and he helps me out," Buffy said trying to smooth down some of Faith's unruly curls.

"You're hurt," Faith said her eyes widening as she noticed the already fading cuts and bruises that marred Buffy's face. The toddler crawled off Giles' lap and over onto Buffy's lifting her hand and gently ran her fingertips over a nasty looking bruise on the blonde's cheek.

"I'm okay now, I come with superhero healing," Buffy said pulling Faith into a hug.

"Grandpa Giles are you having a sleepover?" Faith asked around a yawn her thumb finding its way into her mouth.

"No not tonight I have to go home and do some reading," Giles smiled at her.

"Faithy you should go back to bed it's very late and Grandpa Giles and I need to talk some more," Buffy said.

"I'm not sleepy," Faith whined dragging her eyes open and Buffy held back a laugh as they sunk almost immediately closed again.

"Heard that one before," Buffy smirked kissing the top of Faith's head.

"Alright well I'll get onto this tonight see if I can find anything, we need to be prepared I mean if she comes after you," Giles trailed off watching as Buffy stroked the now sound asleep toddlers hair her eyes not wavering from the young girls face.

"She'll come," Buffy said quietly, "she'll come for us."

*********************************************************************************************

"So Tara's party, I mean you forgot too right, I mean I'm not alone in being a total bad friend," Xander asked Buffy as they walked towards the Magic Shop.

"Well, sure I forgot about the party. I mean, there's kind of a lot going on. And it's not, you know, the most thrilling social event of the season," Buffy said struggling to keep a hold of Faith's hand. Ever since Buffy had told the toddler she could help them with researching the young girl had been practically chomping at the bit to get to the Magic Shop.

"Faith calm down would you," she said to her sister.

"I wanna help Grandpa Giles with the reading," Faith said.

"She's helping?" Xander asked a little confused.

"She can't actually read, I figure Giles must have some old books that aren't dangerous, besides it'll keep her busy," Buffy told him quietly so Faith couldn't hear.

"You know he'll have a coronary if anything happens to his boks," Xander said smirking.

"All writing materials will be well out of reach," Buffy told him.

"Giles can breathe easier then. So Tara's party, it's a big deal for Willow, you're gonna be there right?" Xander asked.

"Yeah barring monsters," Buffy shrugged.

"Can I come to Tawa's party?" Faith asked her interest in their conversation stopping her from pulling on Buffy's hand as she slowed her walking to keep pace with them.

"You're a little young they won't let you in the door," Buffy told her.

"No fair," Faith pouted pulling her hand from Buffy's as they entered the Magic Shop.

"Sorry squirt it's just the way it goes," Xander said reaching down and swinging her up onto his shoulders.

"Hey," Anya greeted them.

"Gimme some sugar, I've come to buy sugar," Xander said leaning over the counter and placing a kiss on her lips.

"Mmm. We value your patronage," Anya pulled back dreamily her eyes closed in satisfaction.

"Ew yuck. B," Faith screwed up her face watching the couple twisting on Xander's shoulders so she could see her sister reaching out her arms. Xander smirked as he bent his knees so he was at a height where Buffy could reach Faith, the blonde Slayer giving the toddler a similar expression as she pulled her off Xander's shoulders.

"Don't scare the kid Xander," Buffy teased her friend holding Faith to her pretending to shield her eyes.

"Yes no need to damage her eye sight by your romantic displays," Giles smirked coming in from the back room.

"So, any breakthroughs on the identity of Miss Congeniality?" Buffy asked Giles. They had filled in the Scooby Gang earlier about Buffy's run in with the curly haired woman and the fact that she was looking for a mystical key.

"Well, I have narrowed it down somewhat," Giles said waving his arms at the piles of books that lay across the table.

"Your definition of narrow is impressively wide," Buffy said raising her eyebrow.

"Well, you didn't give me much to go on. She-she looks human, so the mug shots aren't any use, and, uh, you can't be more specific about what she's like?" Giles said looking at his Slayer exasperatedly.

"Well she was kind of like Cordelia actually," she said, "and I'm pretty sure she dyes her hair."

"Right! That one, of course. Our work is done," Giles said sarcastically.

"There must be something on her," Buffy said sitting Faith on the chair to her right.

"The answer is somewhere here," Xander said staring dramatically at the books that covered the table in front of him, "It's right in front of us and we're too blind to see it!" he said slamming his hand down on the table. Buffy glared at him, Giles rolled his eyes and Faith giggled at his theatrics.

"B can I start reading now?" Faith asked sitting up on her knees so she could see over the top of the table.

"Giles show a book that's low on violence, magic, demony images and all around badness," Buffy said looking to her Watcher. Giles looked at her sceptically for a second before turning his back and rummaging through the shelves turning once he had found the book he was after and handing it to her. Flipping through the pages she realised it was a book about different sorts of candles and smiled at him gratefully before handing it to Faith.

"Research away Faithy," she said smiling at her sister.

************************************************************************************************

As Buffy predicted Faith had gotten bored of the researching fairly quickly and Anya had taken her into the training room about half an hour ago to burn some extra energy under strict instructions not to let her near anything sharp.

"So what'd you get her?" Buffy asked Xander.

"Huh?" Xander asked a bewildered expression crossing his features.

"Tara. You said you got a present already," Buffy explained.

"Yeah, that was a tangled web of lies, sweetie. I'm not really sure what kind of thing she'd like," Xander admitted sheepishly.

"I know," Buffy said throwing her book on the table in frustration.

"You're in a magic shop, and you can't think what Tara would like. I believe you're both profoundly stupid," Giles said shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, we don't really know the kind of things witches like. What, are we gonna get her some cheesy crystal ball?" Xander said.

"Bloody well better not I've already got mine wrapped," Giles said and Buffy watched in amusement as the two bantered easily. She smiled when she saw Faith and Anya come back in from the training room.

"You're all sweaty Faithy," she said. The toddler's hair was sticking to her forehead and her cheeks were flushed from her physical exertion.

"I've been running laps," she told them proudly, "Anya told me she didn't reckon I could do lots so I showed her I could."

"You've been running the whole time you've been gone," Buffy said incredulously accepting the towel Giles held out to her and wiping Faith's face with it.

"Yes her stamina really is quite impressive," Anya commented.

"And now my legs are wobbly," Faith remarked climbing up onto Buffy's lap.

"Well Mom will be happy because you'll sleep well tonight," Buffy said rubbing Faith's legs as the toddler stuck them out in front of her.

"Noooo don't make me take a nap B," Faith whined trying to get off her sister's lap.

"I didn't say you had to I'm just saying you'll be tired tonight after you did so much running," Buffy said putting her arms around Faith's waist.

"Uh, are all these magic books?" they all turned in surprise at the blonde haired man who was standing next to Buffy, they had been so engrossed in their own conversations and researching they hadn't even seen him approach.

"Uh, private collection, books for sale are against the walls over there," Giles said indicating the opposite end of the shop. The man didn't react to Giles' obvious dismissal and continued to look at the books strewn out in front of him.

"So all these books got spells in 'em? Turn people into frogs, things like that?" the man asked his eyes glinting.

"Yeah, we're building a race of frog people. It's a good time," Xander said sarcastically.

"So, uh you all witches? Hey, don't do a spell on me now," he said raising his arms in mock surrender.

"B, Wilwow and Tawa wouldn't really make us frogs would they?" Faith asked quietly her eyes wide. They all missed the satisfied look on the man's face as he heard what the young girl had said.

"No baby they wouldn't do that," Buffy said.

"Was there something in particular you wanted?" Giles asked the man rather sternly the man's only response was an irritating chuckle. He was interrupted by the ringing of the bell signalling that someone had entered the store, the playful banter of Willow and Tara could be heard drifting down to the back of the store.

"Well whatta you know," the man said as he spotted the two witches Tara's face clearly indicating the she knew who he was.

"What's the matter? You don't have a hug for your big brother?" he grinned at her.

Awkward introductions followed and it was obvious that Tara was uncomfortable having her brother there. Her stuttering had increased tenfold and they found it hard to understand the blonde witch as she spoke. The awkward conversation continued as they were joined by Tara's father and cousin.

"B are we going home yet?" Faith asked loudly around a yawn her earlier activities obviously catching up with her. Buffy smiled apologetically at Tara and covered Faith's mouth with her hand.

"Just sit still for a bit longer baby okay," she said pushing Faith's head down gently so it was resting against her chest.

"One of your dorm-mates said I might find you here," Mr. Maclay said his distaste for the shop showing clearly in his features. Tara introduced them all and Mr. Maclay greeted them all with a forced politeness that was plainly obvious to all in the room.

"Well they seem nice," Willow said after Tara's family had left.

"Yeah well families, they're okay," Tara said.

"They make you crazy," Willow supplied.

"Research mode?" Tara asked taking Willow's hand in her own.

***********************************************************************************************

"Honey we're home," Buffy called as she entered the foyer of the Summers house, a slumbering Faith in her arms.

"Hard day at the office?" Joyce smirked as she came in from the kitchen and spotted the sleeping Faith.

"It's a rat race," Buffy said giving her mother a kiss on the cheek, "you look better."

"I feel better, the wonders of modern medicine I suppose. I was actually going to head into work for a couple of hours," Joyce said smoothing down Faith's hair.

"Mom you're supposed to be resting," Buffy protested.

"I'm rested and back to being healthy working Mom, a Mom whose work is going to get so far ahead of her that she'll be pulling overtime for the next few years if she doesn't go in," Joyce said.

"But it was supposed to be family night," Buffy said, "Faith was so looking forward to it."

"Well maybe the two of you can do something, we can do family night tomorrow," Joyce reasoned.

"Fine but you take it easy, I won't no heavy lifting to be done," Buffy said sternly.

"Yes Mom," Joyce teased kissing Faith on the top of her head and cupping Buffy's cheek, "I already cooked dinner because I wanted my house to be still standing when I returned. Be good," she finished grabbing her bag from the counter.

************************************************************************************************

"Do you think you found something?" Buffy said into the phone. She nodded her head as Giles spoke.

"Now, yeah I guess, Faith's still napping but I can wake her up and we can come over," Buffy nodded again before hanging up. Going into Faith's room she smiled at her sister who was curled up on her side Mr. Darcy firmly under one arm. Stroking some hair away from Faith's forehead she shook the young girl's shoulder gently while calling her name.

"Time to get up baby," she said smiling down at the toddler who opened her eyes blearily.

"I'm still sleepy," Faith mumbled closing her eyes again.

"I know Fai you did lots of running today but Grandpa Giles called and we have to go down to the Magic Shop," Buffy said.

"But we were there already today," Faith grumbled rubbing her eyes.

"I know Grandpa Giles has sucky timing," Buffy said.

"Can't I stay here with Mama?" Faith asked pushing the covers off.

"Mom had to go into work so you have to come with me," Buffy said helping her sister out of bed.

"What about family night?" Faith cried.

"We're going to do it tomorrow, come on we don't want to keep Grandpa Giles waiting."

************************************************************************************************

"I'm mad at you," Faith scowled at Giles as she and Buffy came into the Magic Shop.

"What on earth did I do?" Giles asked perplexed.

"You tell him B I'm too mad," Faith scowled walking away.

"You interrupted her nap," Buffy smirked.

"God forbid," Giles chuckled, "well Faith maybe you can watch Buffy train as my apology."

"You said you found something?" Buffy asked taking a seat at the table with the rest of the Scoobies.

"Yes, now, I may have a lead on this monk that Buffy spoke of. There, there are a few orders that I-I've read up on," Giles told her. No one noticed Tara off to the side who blew red dust at them all. They all flinched back as the dust hit them all in the eyes.

"I'm sorry where was I?" Giles said looking confused.

"The monk," Buffy reminded him.

"Yes, um, I'd like us all to start looking at these orders, I-it's possible whichever one this monk belonged to was wiped out entirely," Giles said.

***********************************************************************************************

Buffy and Faith sat facing each other on the workout mats in the backroom of the Magic Shop.

"Then you put your arm like this and hold onto your toes," Buffy said showing Faith how to do the stretch.

"Like this?" Faith asked mimicking her actions.

"That's it Faithy," Buffy smiled, "okay now go sit over on that chair and watch for bit."

The toddler sat on the chair swinging her legs as she watched her sister pummel the punching bag that hung from the ceiling.

"Hit it harder B you're not even trying," Faith smirked as Buffy gave her a dirty look.

"I'm just doing what Grandpa Giles said to do he said don't let her slack off, so hit it harder," Faith said.

"Yes taskmaster," Buffy laughed turning back to the punching bag and continuing her training.

Buffy cried out in shock as an invisible force slammed into her and knocked her to the ground.

"B don't be silly," Faith giggled as Buffy picked herself up off the floor looking around in confusion. Buffy cried out again as she was pushed over struggling with something on top of her.

"Giles!" Buffy called, "there's something in here!" she grunted as she pushed whatever it was off of her.

"B what's going on?" Faith asked her eyes widening in fear as she watched Buffy fighting something she couldn't see.

"Faithy go and find Grandpa Giles, go quickly," Buffy grunted as she gets hit in the face.

Faith picked up the panic in her sisters voice and raced out into the front of the shop where she was nearly bowled over by Xander who had been thrown to the floor by the same invisible force.

"Grandpa Giles B is being hurt by something that's not even there," Faith said hurriedly tugging on the older man's jacket. Giles looked down to the young girl at his feet and scooped her up in his arms tucking her safely under his desk.

"Stay there until someone comes to get you okay," he said before rushing off to help his Slayer. He had barely left the room before Buffy came back in after disposing of the creature in the training room, Giles following closely behind. Buffy checked quickly that Faith was okay before running into the centre of the room.

"Where'd it go?" Anya asked frantically waving the candlestick she had chosen as a makeshift weapon.

Giles was suddenly knocked off his feet as he was punched by the invisible force, "Bloody hell," he groaned rubbing his head as he stood, "how many are there?"

"Shut up!" Buffy yelled and everyone quietened immediately. She concentrated on her breathing using the techniques Giles had been teaching her to hone her skills. She could feel something, a faint buzzing in her spine but she couldn't distinguish it from the buzz she got from her Slayer connection with Faith. Her concentration was broken when the bell hanging above the front door run and Tara came rushing in.

"Buffy behind you," the blonde witch called a split second to late as Buffy found herself flying through the air and landing on a nearby table.

"Tara where is it? Can you see it?" Buffy asked looking around frantically.

"Oh god," Tara said her face falling in shame as Buffy is knocked back again by a brutal punch to the face. The blonde witch said a spell loudly causing everyone's eyes to flash a brilliant orange revealing the remaining demon who delivered a punch to Tara's face knocking her off her feet. Buffy raced up to help the witch but is stopped in her tracks when the demon turns and punches her as well sending her skidding back against the counter. The demon towered over Tara who was still sprawled on the floor looking up at it in fear. The demon is interrupted from its advances by the door to the Magic Shop opening revealing Mr Maclay.

"Tara," he shouted seeing his daughter on the floor the demon about to attack. The demon took the man's momentary shock as an opportunity and rushed into him crashing him to the floor. Before it had a chance to attack further Buffy was on its back struggling and eventually throwing it to the floor. Placing her foot on the base of its neck she twisted until they all heard the cracking sound of its neck breaking.

The silence in the room was overbearing only broken by Buffy's slightly uneven breathing as she tried to calm down from the fight and work out what had just happened. Giles reached down under his desk and picked Faith up checking her over to make sure she hadn't been hurt.

"What is that?" the toddler asked her eyes wide in shock as she spotted the dead demon. Buffy who had finally recovered from the fight seemed to realise that her sister was there and walked over to take her from Giles. After checking her over for injuries herself she pulled the young girl to her tightly placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I'd like to know the same thing," Mr Maclay said.

"That's a demon Faithy the ones that I'm chosen to fight," Buffy said not addressing the older man.

"Specifically a Lei-ach demon, they are known for sucking the marrow from their victims," Giles added.

"I don't understand," Mr Maclay said looking down at the demon and then at the other occupants of the room.

"I'm not sure I do either," Buffy said walking closer to Tara who was just getting up off the floor.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Tara sniffled, "I was, I was trying to hide."

Seeing her girlfriends distress Willow went to her side placing a comforting hand on her arm.

"I didn't want you to see, what I am," Tara said looking into Willow's eyes.

"Tara what?" Willow asked cupping Tara's face in her hand.

"What do you mean what you are?" Buffy asked.

"Demon," Mr Maclay said, "all the women in our family are part demon, it's where the magic comes from."

"You cast a spell on us, to keep us from seeing your demon side," Giles said looking at the blonde witch incredulously before turning to Buffy, "it's why we couldn't see our attackers."

"Nearly got us all killed," Buffy said readjusting her hold on Faith.

"I'll go, I'm so sorry," Tara said tearfully looking at Buffy.

"Wait go! Tara it was a mistake, a spell went wrong, you didn't mean it, you can't go, she didn't mean it" Willow said grabbing the blonde's elbow as she turned to leave.

"That's not the point and it's not your concern. She belongs with us. We know how to control her uh, problem," Mr Maclay said grabbing a hold of his daughter's other arm.

"Tara, look at me," Willow said using her free hand to turn her girlfriend's face gently so they were looking at each other, "I, I trusted you more than anyone in my life. Was all that just a lie?"

"No!" Tara cried tearfully.

"Well do you wanna leave?" Willow asked and Tara shook her head softly tears cascading down her cheeks.

"You're going to do what's right, Tara. Now, I'm taking you out of here before somebody does get killed. The girl belongs with her family. I hope that's clear to the rest of you," Mr Maclay said sternly.

"It is," Buffy said bending down and placing Faith on the floor. Willow looked at her friend in alarm.

"You want her, Mr. Maclay? You can go ahead and take her," Buffy said causing Mr Maclay to nod his head in satisfaction. Tara nodded her head sadly tears still coursing down her cheeks. Willow opened her mouth to interject but was interrupted by Buffy, "You just gotta go through me," the blonde Slayer said placing her hands on her hips.

Tara looked up in amazement and a smile began to grow at the corner of Willow's lips as she took in her best friend's pose.

"What!" Mr Maclay said surprise clearly evident in his tone.

"You heard me, you wanna take Tara out of here against her will. You gotta go through me," Buffy said her gaze never wavering from the older man's face.

"And me," Faith piped up mirroring her sisters pose. Tara smiled tearfully at the two of them quite sure that Faith wasn't exactly certain what was going on but was eager to join in anyway.

"Is this a joke?" Mr Maclay said looking at the two of them, "I'm not gonna be threatened by two little girls."

"I'm not little I'm a big girl," Faith said scowling at him.

"And she's a hair puller," Buffy added.

"And you won't be just dealing with two uh, two little girls," Giles said putting his glasses on.

"I'm a big girl," Faith protested.

"You'll be dealing with all of us," Xander said as he and Anya joined the rest of the group squaring off against Mr Maclay.

"This is insane. You people have no right to interfere with Tara's affairs. We are her blood kin! Who the hell are you?" Mr Maclay said shaking his head.

Buffy straightened up after resting Faith back on her hip, "We're family," she said looking around at those around her.

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"So that demon was pretty scary today huh," Buffy said as the two of them walked home.

"It was a little bit scary but not very very scary," Faith said.

"Well you were very brave and you did what you were told which was good because it kept you safe," Buffy said swinging their joined hands.

"Maybe one day I can help you being a superhero," Faith said.

"Maybe one day," Buffy said trailing off as she looked at the carefree young girl at her side. She didn't like to think that Faith would grow up to carry the burden of Slayerhood but she knew the young girl could not escape her destiny.

"B do you think that 'cause I was such a brave girl we could get Mama to bring us icecream?" Faith asked.

"Oh I think that could be arranged," Buffy said smirking.

**A/N: I'm not entirely happy with this chapter but I wanted to get something up. Hope you are enjoying the story otherwise.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Forget demons and vampires you will be the death of me," Buffy growled at her college text books. She had been studying for what felt like years and her brain currently felt like a ball of mush sitting inside her head. She smirked when she felt her Slayer connection intensify and knew that Faith was hovering outside her door. She decided to pretend like she didn't know the young girl was there and pretended to keep reading her smile widening when she caught sight of Faith's head peeking slowly around her door.

"B," Faith whispered quietly but Buffy didn't acknowledge that she had heard even though with her advanced hearing it was impossible for her not to.

"B," the young girl said a little louder this time and Buffy could see a little more of her small body as she tentatively came further into the room.

"B are you finished yet?" Faith asked and Buffy could see her sister bite her lip nervously and she looked as if she thought she would get in trouble.

"Faith is that you?" Buffy said turning slowly to look at the young girl.

"Yeah it's Faif," Faith said her face screwing up in confusion not getting Buffy's game.

"Faith, Faith where'd you go?" Buffy asked getting up from her chair and looking around her bedroom pretending not to see her sister.

"B I'm here," Faith said crossing her arms across her chest.

"Faith where are you?" Buffy called inching closer to the young girl.

"B you're right in front of me," Faith scowled getting annoyed.

"Faith? Faith?" Buffy called again getting closer to Faith.

"B that's not funny I'm right here," an edge of panic starting to creep into the toddler's voice as she came closer to Buffy.

"Guess I must've imagined it," Buffy shrugged her shoulders turning back to her desk.

"No B I'm here," Faith yelled running forward to grab Buffy's leg. In one swift motion Buffy whirled around and scooped Faith up and dumped her on her bed tickling her mercilessly.

"As if I couldn't see you you goof," Buffy said flopping down onto the bed next to Faith. The toddler was still trying to get her breath back after being tickled but she managed to roll herself up onto Buffy balancing herself on the older girl's stomach.

"Are you finished 'tudying yet B? 'Cause Mama says I'm not allowed to bother you if you're not but you've been doin' it for a long time and Mama is havin' a nap and I got bored," Faith said bending down so her elbows were resting against Buffy's chest and resting her head in her hands she looked her sister in the eye.

"Mom's having a nap?" Buffy asked slightly worried, Joyce hadn't been feeling too great lately, "hey wait if Mom's having a nap doesn't that mean you're supposed to be as well?"

"I tried to but I'm not sleepy at all and then I was lonely and I came to see you but Mama said I wasn't 'lowed to interrupt you if you were still studying so I had to wait till you were finished," Faith said.

"Well I think I'm due for a break my brain is totally fried," Buffy said.

"Mama said we could go to the park and feed the ducks when you were finished," Faith said excitedly.

"You better not chase them this time remember last time when they all flew away," Buffy reminded her.

"They were sad," Faith said nodding her head.

"Well we'll have to keep ourselves busy until Mom wakes up then," Buffy said as Faith lay her head down on Buffy's chest. They lay in silence for awhile Buffy stroking Faith's hair as they enjoyed each other's company.

"B," Faith said after awhile.

"Yeah Faithy," Buffy answered her eyes closed in relaxation.

"Is there something wrong with Mama?" the toddler asked softly. Buffy's hand stopped in the younger girl's hair for a second before beginning to run through Faith's long dark curls again.

"Why do you ask that?" Buffy asked.

"She's had a sore head a lot and, she," Faith trailed off shaking her head as she buried into the crook of Buffy's neck.

"What happened baby?" Buffy asked concerned. It was always worrying when Faith was quiet because usually they couldn't get the young girl to stop talking.

"Nothin'," Faith mumbled.

Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's waist and sat the two of them up on her bed. Amidst protests from Faith she pushed her sister away from her so she could see the toddler's face.

"Faithy it's me you can tell me anything," Buffy said brushing some hair away from Faith's face.

"In the kitchen we were talking and then she looked at me funny and she said Who are you? And then she was alright again after," Faith said quietly looking down at her hands that were resting in her lap, "Why did she forget who I was?"

Buffy stared at her sister in shock. Not only had she not been aware of what had happened she was also scared about what that meant for her mother. While the hospital hadn't found anything wrong with Joyce last time they went in with her mother still not feeling her best she knew they would eventually. Her expression softened when she noticed the way Faith was biting her lip to stop it from trembling. The toddler had had to have been frightened when it happened and it was surprising she had waited so long to tell Buffy.

"I don't know sweetheart," Buffy said softly, "she didn't do it on purpose, she could never forget who you are she loves you lots," Buffy said cupping Faith's cheek with her hand.

"I wove her too and I don't want her to be sick," Faith said leaning forward so she was resting against Buffy again. Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith's back and rubbed her sister's back comfortingly.

"I know baby I don't either, but if she is you and I will have to be strong for her and make sure we do everything we can to help her get better," Buffy said.

"We'll have to be brave girls," Faith said nodding her head.

"Like superheros," Buffy said smiling.

************************************************************************************************

"Now remember Faithy don't chase them away or there won't be any left for you to throw the bread to," Buffy said as Joyce handed the toddler a piece of bread.

"They all flied away last time," Faith informed her mother.

"Well you'll just have to be nicer to them and maybe they'll stick around a little longer," Joyce said handing Buffy a piece of bread.

"So are you feeling alright?" Buffy asked as they watched Faith enthusiastically throw large chunks of bread at the ducks.

"I'm alright, a little tired but I'm sure it's nothing," Joyce said smiling at her daughter.

"We're worried about you," Buffy said staring at the lake as she threw her own pieces of bread to the ducks.

"You don't have to be worried honey I'll be fine," Joyce said putting her arm around Buffy's shoulders and giving them a squeeze, "Faith honey don't go too close to the edge we don't want to be fishing you out of the lake," she called out to her youngest who was indeed teetering very close to the edge.

"Mama I won't fall in," Faith said turning her head to look back at them.

"Even so come back just a bit to make your mother happy," Joyce said to her.

"Fine but you're being silly Mama," Faith scowled coming back a little further.

Buffy and her mother chatted for awhile as they watched Faith happily feed the ducks; the toddler would see how close she could get to the duck with the bread held out hesitantly in her hand and then squeal and run back up to them if it got too close or if it actually took it from her hand.

"Did ya see that one?" Faith cried running up to them excitedly and resting her hands on her mother's knees, "the big one nearly bited my whole hand off."

"Well lucky it didn't I like these hands," Joyce said pulling the toddler's small hands into her bigger ones and kissing them gently.

"Are you and B gonna feed the ducks with me?" Faith asked.

"I'm happy just watching you but I'm sure Buffy would love to, you'll just have to ask really nicely," Joyce told her letting go of her hands.

"B do you want to feed the ducks with me?" Faith said looking at her sister pleadingly.

"I'll go down and watch you a little closer to the water," Buffy said taking Faith's hand.

"When I throw it like this they get real excited," Faith demonstrated throwing her last piece of bread out.

"You're probably their favourite person now you've given them all that bread. Have you ever tried skipping rocks Faithy?" Buffy asked demonstrating. With that extra bit of Slayer strength she could almost get there to go all the way across the lake. Faith looked at her sister in awe, "Woah that's wicked cool B," she said picking up a rock of her own and mimicking Buffy's actions.

"That's pretty good Faithy just put a little bit more effort into it and it'll bounce right back up," Buffy said grabbing another rock.

Joyce could see what was going to happen before it did, call it mother's intuition but she was on her feet before the squeal and splash of water even sounded. Faith who had indeed put that extra effort into her throw had followed the rock into the water. The water wasn't even up to her knees so they didn't have to worry about her not being able to swim but the toddler looked up at them in shock as she rose out of the water. Buffy was laughing hysterically as Joyce came down the bank so she was standing next to eldest.

"Faith honey are you alright?" Joyce asked barely containing her own laughter. The toddler's shock gave way to tears as she wiped her water sodden hair off her face.

"Sweetheart you're okay just come to the edge and we can get you out," Joyce said reaching her arms out. Faith ploughed miserably through the water her lower lip still trembling as tears spilled out over her cheeks. Buffy was still snorting with laughter every so often but seeing her sister's distress she tried to hold it in. Faith shivered as the light breeze hit her wet skin and whimpered as her mother lifted her out of the lake and placed her back on the bank.

"Did you have a nice trip Faith?" Buffy smirked.

"Buffy don't tease her," Joyce reprimanded picking Faith up and holding her out at arm's length, "come on let's get you home or you'll catch your death." They hurried to the jeep and Joyce quickly stripped Faith out of her wet clothes wrapping her up in a picnic blanket they kept in the car.

"I hope the duckies don't get mad that I went swimming in their lake," Faith stated her tears all gone as Buffy picked her up and placed her in her car seat.

"I think they'll forgive you because you kept their tummies nice and full," Buffy said doing the buckles up on Faith's car seat.

"Do we gotta go home? We didn't get to go to the playground," Faith whined as Buffy got in the front seat.

"It's getting late sweetheart, it's already getting dark," Joyce said from the driver's seat.

"Besides after you took a dip in the lake your clothes got all wet, you'd be an icicle before you even made it down the slide," Buffy smirked.

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The phone was ringing as they made it in the front door and Joyce handed Faith over to Buffy as she rushed to get it, "Run a bath for her would you sweetheart."

"So apart for taking a swim in the lake did you have fun at the park?" Buffy asked as they waited for the bath to run.

"It was lots of fun. Do you think Mama would let me have a duck?" Faith asked as Buffy placed her in the warm water.

"You can ask her but I doubt she'd say yes," Buffy laughed pouring some warm water over Faith's head.

"Are we going to see Wilwow and Xander tomorrow?" Faith asked as she grabbed for the plastic bath toys.

"Probably, I'm not sure if you're going in with Mom tomorrow, or day care, do you think you'd like to go back there yet? You could see all your friends again," Buffy said.

"No one would take me again would they?" Faith asked hesitantly.

"No baby no one would take you away again," Buffy said tipping more water over Faith's head, "Riley was angry at me and the people he worked for were very bad people but it would be safe for you now they've gone away. If you're not ready Faithy you don't have to go yet."

"If no one would get me I wanna go," Faith said around a yawn.

"Well we'll have to talk to Mom about it she'll have to call them and let them know you wanna go back," Buffy said, "now don't get out until I come back with your PJ's, remember what happened last time you did."

"I made a big mess and Mama got real angry," Faith said rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"And we don't want a repeat of that so stay in there until I get back," Buffy said.

Buffy could hear the murmuring of her mother on the phone downstairs as she went into Faith's room to grab her sleepwear; she made a mental note to ask Joyce who it was later. Coming back into the bathroom she dried faith off and dressed her in her pyjamas.

"Feeling all toasty warm now?" Buffy asked brushing a comb through the young girl's dark hair.

"Yeah," Faith said yawning again.

"Don't get sleepy Faithy we haven't had anything for dinner," Buffy smirked.

"I'm not getting sleepy," Faith said resting her head on Buffy's shoulder as the blonde Slayer picked her up.

"Okay sure, well let's go get you something to eat before bed," Buffy said.

Faith was asleep before they even made it to the stairs so Buffy turned to take her back to her room. Passing by her mother's room she noticed that Joyce was standing by her bed.

"Well she's squeaky clean now but a lack of naptime means no dinner for Faithy," Buffy said as she walked further into Joyce's room.

"Oh great thanks hon," Joyce said distractedly looking around her room.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked coming to stand next to her mother.

"I'm fine. Have you seen my conditioner?" Joyce asked smiling when she saw a sleeping Faith.

"Have you checked under the sink?" Buffy asked.

"Oh of course," Joyce said going into the bathroom to retrieve the bottle.

"Where are you going anyway?" Buffy asked noticing the suitcase on her mother's bed.

"That was the doctor on the phone, you know the nothing that I've been dealing with the last couple of weeks? It might not be nothing," Joyce said.

"What is it?" Buffy asked not being able to stop the tremor in her voice as she readjusted Faith on her hip.

"I'm staying overnight at the hospital for observation. I'm getting a CAT scan" Joyce said. Buffy opened her mouth to reply but couldn't form words. If it wasn't for the toddler held tight in her arms she would have dropped to the floor in despair. Seeing her daughter's obvious distress Joyce placed her arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

"It's only one night and they say even if there is something, it's still very early if they didn't see it before. I'm going to be fine," she smiled reassuringly at Buffy.

Taking a deep breath Buffy put on a brave smile she gave her mother a quick hug. As they pulled back Joyce kissed the top of Faith's head and stroked a hand down Buffy's face lovingly her hand lingering there for a second.

"You'll be fine," Buffy said nodding her head, "okay well I'm just going to put her to bed," she said eager to get out of the room before the tears that were threatening to fall leaked out.

Walking quickly to Faith's room she shut the door hurriedly behind her before sinking to the floor, Faith still sleeping soundly against her chest. Thankful that the toddler could sleep through a bomb blast Buffy buried her head in the young girl's long hair using it to muffle her sobs. The scene mirrored another night spent at Angel's hotel and the despair and helplessness she had felt then coming back full blown.

This couldn't be happening. This was happening. How could this be happening? Why was this happening? She was the Slayer and her mother was a good woman, this sort of thing didn't happen to good people.

Faith mumbled against her neck shifting against her neck. Buffy held her breath as she felt the toddler tighten her grip around her neck but breathed out shakily when her sister settled down again. Looking down at the young girl in her arms Buffy's heart swelled. They would be the brave girls, they would be the superheros, they would fight this and they would win.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I think everyone already knows the curly haired woman is Glory so I'm just going to refer to her as that from now on even though the Scoobies aren't aware of who she is. **

**Also I've had a lot of reviews about the Joyce character. I'm not going to reveal what's going to happen to her but it's all for the good of the story. **

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"Here Faithy drink this," Buffy said handing her sister a can of soda she had gotten from the vending machine. The two of them were sitting in the hospital waiting room and had been for quite some time now. They were waiting for Joyce who was in getting her CAT scan.

Faith was sitting on the floor in front of Buffy a few toys spread out around her, a few of the hospital staff had given them a dirty look when they had had to step around the toddler but Buffy had ignored them, if it kept Faith busy then she wasn't going to move her.

The toddler took the can from Buffy and took a small sip before placing it on the ground next to her leaning back against Buffy's legs. Buffy rested her head back against the wall closing her eyes as she tried to calm the hammering of her heart in her chest. This test would reveal what, if anything was wrong with her mother and even if it was bad news it was better knowing instead of living in the dark all this time.

She opened her eyes when she felt little hands grabbing at her knees and smiled as she helped Faith up onto her lap.

"Is it nearly time for Mama to come home?" Faith asked settling herself down.

"Not yet Faithy, she's in having her CAT scan at the moment, the doctors will tell us when she can go home," Buffy said distractedly.

"But what is a CAT scan?" Faith asked her eyebrows furrowing.

"I don't know. It's some sort of x-ray I guess so they can see what's making Mom sick," Buffy replied.

"But why do they call it a CAT scan? Is there cats in there or does it sound like a cat?" Faith asked.

Buffy sighed in frustration running a hand through her hair, "Faith, I'm really," she trailed off when she noticed the scared look on Faith's face. Pulling the toddler to her tightly she dropped a kiss on the top of the young girl's head and stroked her hair softly, "It'll be alright baby," she murmured as Faith's thumb found its way into her mouth the two of them staring intently at the door their mother had been taken through.

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Looking at the outside of the glamorous hillside apartment you would never have guessed the evil that resided within. Inside a blonde haired woman threw a red pump across the room hitting a scabby faced monk square in the forehead.

"Dreg is it?" Glory drawled trailing her hand seductively down the side of his face.

"Yes. Dreg. Your creamy coolness has honoured me by speaking my name. Your voice is like a thousand sweet songbirds that," Dreg was cut off as Glory put a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, I never tire of hearing that," Glory growled irritated, "Look, just so we're clear, the spell's gonna work, right?" she continued Dreg nodding anxiously in the background as she walked over to peer out the curtain, "I mean, nothing worse than a gift that doesn't work. Then I'd have to get all mad and kill you!," she said turning so her face was very close to his causing him to whimper and shrink back in fear, "It's this whole big thing," she said waving her hand nonchalantly.

"It will work your extremeness. Provided you have the other items you need," Dreg said hurriedly.

"Don't worry I'll have them all right," Glory said picking up a ripped out piece of paper from a nearby table, the tell tale logo of the Magic Shop visible on the underside.

*********************************************************************************************

Buffy's legs had gone numb an hour ago from sitting still for so long and from Faith who had fallen asleep twenty minutes ago and was now a dead weight on her lap. They still hadn't heard anything from the doctor and she was starting to get worried surely a simple test like this shouldn't take this long.

"Excuse me," she asked a nurse who came out of the room Joyce had been taken, "my mother was taken in there some time ago for a CAT scan I was wondering if they were finished yet?"

"Of course, you can go in there now and speak with the doctor," the nurse said.

Buffy stood gathering Faith in her arms and looked down at the toddler's toys that were still strewn on the floor in front of them.

"Don't worry I'll clean them up and bring them in, go and be with your mother," the nurse said kindly.

"Thanks," Buffy said smiling at her gratefully readjusting Faith on her hip so the young girl's head was resting against her shoulder. She took a deep breath before opening the door to the examination room.

"Uh hi, may I come in?" she asked hesitantly looking around the darkened room where her mother was sitting in a hospital gown on the bed with the images from the CAT scan hanging on the lighted room.

"Oh of course baby, come on in. Doctor Isaacs these are my daughters Buffy and Faith," Joyce said indicating that Buffy should come and sit on the bed next to her.

"Nice to meet you," Dr. Isaacs said, "Excuse me, I'm just gonna check on the status of the OR," he said leaving the room.

"The OR?" Buffy asked handing Faith over to her mother.

"Dr Isaacs says I'm lucky there's one available on such short notice. Some people wait for days, sometimes, weeks," Joyce said stroking her hands absently through Faith's hair.

"Mom, what did they find?" Buffy asked softly.

"A shadow. I've got a shadow. Somewhere over there," Joyce said pointing to the CAT scan images, "he showed it to me, but, um they have to do a biopsy to find out exactly what it is," Joyce said pulling Buffy tightly to her side when she saw Buffy's face fall.

"Doctor says it's too early to be concerned," Joyce said her voice breaking.

"Right," Buffy said pulling back so she could look Joyce in the face, "no concern."

"Just a shadow," Joyce said kissing the top of Faith's head.

************************************************************************************************

"Maybe she's not in the books," Tara said closing another book. Along with Willow and Xander the three of them had been researching the woman who attacked Buffy while Giles and Anya served customers.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked her girlfriend.

"I mean, what if she's not a demon or sorceress or spirit or whatever these books cover?" Tara said, Giles looking over at her as he put a customer's items through the cash register, "What if she's something else altogether?" Tara finished.

Giles handed the items back to the customer and walked over to the table, "Something new you mean?" he asked.

"Something old. So old it pre-dates the written word," Tara said shaking her head.

"Giles, the Dagon sphere. You said that was created to repel that which cannot be named. So I'm thinking that maybe she," Willow trailed off.

"Predates language itself?" Giles added taking his glasses off and leaning heavily against the table.

************************************************************************************************

The hospital waiting room was abuzz with action, people were being wheeled in and out of rooms and doctors and nurses walked the halls with a purpose but to Buffy it felt like time was standing still. Ever since her mother had been taken into surgery she had checked the clock every so often and it felt like every time she looked up only five minutes had passed.

Faith had awoken soon after Joyce was taken in and Buffy had chosen not to tell her what was going on. The toddler had asked her some questions about Joyce's whereabouts but she had lied telling her she hadn't come out of the first test yet. She had gotten some food for the toddler to eat and with her belly full Faith had dozed off again soon after having had an early morning. Seeing Dr. Isaacs approaching Buffy stood suddenly hoisting Faith onto her hip, rubbing her hands on the young girl's back as she protested snuggling her head into the crook of Buffy's neck.

Seeing her approaching at such a speed Dr. Isaacs held out his hand to assure her, "Everything went fine; they're moving her into recovery now."

"Do we have the results yet?" Buffy asked unable to stop the tremor in her voice.

"Let's, um, sit down over here for a minute," Dr. Isaacs said placing a hand on Buffy's shoulder intending to lead her over to where she had been sitting previously.

"No!" Buffy said loudly pulling out of his reach, "Excuse me, no, I, I don't mean to be rude, I just, I've been sitting here for hours, I don't wanna sit, I don't wanna lie to my sister anymore. I just, tell me please," she pleaded with him.

"Your mother has, the term is low-grade glioma. It's a brain tumor. The clinical name is oligodendroglioma. It's in the left hemisphere of the cerebrum. In your mother's case the tumor seems to have started there. In other words, it hasn't spread from another part of the body," Dr Isaacs said but Buffy wasn't listening, her mind had wandered as soon as she heard brain tumor. The doctor obviously realised that she wasn't paying much attention to him so he stopped with the medical talk.

"I know this is very difficult, and, uh, because of the nature of your mother's illness, unfortunately, things may progress very quickly," Dr. Isaacs said.

"Things? What things?" Buffy asked pulled back to the present.

"Symptoms. There's a fair variety that might present. Loss of vision or appetite, lack of muscle control, uh, mood swings," Dr. Isaacs said.

"But what can we do? I, uh I mean Faith's only four h-how am I supposed to explain this to her?" Buffy asked.

"I'm sorry but there's not much you can do until we determine whether or not the tumor's operable which we are working on," Dr Isaacs said leading Buffy over to some chairs.

"Is there something I, I mean can I help?" Buffy asked her hand shaking so she tightened them around Faith.

"Well, there's some literature you might want to look at. If we aren't able to go in surgically, there are a number of new treatments that are very promising. Your mother's prognosis is a lot better today than it would have been only a year ago. Even if the tumor's not operable, she has a real chance," Dr. Isaacs told her.

"What's a real chance?" Buffy asked.

"Nearly one out of three patients with this condition does just fine," Dr. Isaacs said. Buffy sucked in a deep breath resting her forehead on the top of Faith's head as the doctor continued speaking, "Now, let me ask. Does your mother's insurance company require copies of the MRI and pathology reports?"

"I'm not sure," Buffy said lifting her head back up.

"Well, just let me know as soon as possible. And I could use some information regarding your mom's lifestyle and home environment. For instance, does she use a cell phone?" the doctor asked seeming to ignore her obvious distress.

"Uh, I think so. Uh, yeah, she um, she, she has one of those ear things," Buffy told him frowning.

"OK, is your house near any power lines, chemical plants, waste disposal facilities? Dr Isaacs asked looking down at the form her held in his hands.

"Um I-I don't know, maybe," Buffy said swiping her hands over her eyes quickly to wipe away the stray tears that had fallen.

"Well the more we know," he said looking at her intently.

"I-I'm sorry," Buffy said.

"Excuse me Doc, but they told me you're needed in ICU," Ben said tapping Dr Isaacs on the shoulder.

"Excuse me Miss Summers," Dr Isaacs said getting up.

"Uh, it's okay," Buffy said distractedly not taking her eyes off the chairs on the other side of the room. Ben takes the seat that Dr Isaacs had just vacated and looked at Buffy sympathetically.

"Thought you looked like you needed a break. Guy's great, but he doesn't have the bone in his head that tells him when to back off," Ben said smiling.

"You mean they, they didn't need him?" Buffy said looking away from the chairs and making eye contact with him.

"Well, I'm sure someone does somewhere, they always do. He really is a good doctor. Your mom's in good hands," he told her.

"Thank you. It's Ben, right?" she said smiling at him.

"Right, and who's this little cutie?" Ben asked indicating Faith.

"My sister Faith," Buffy smiled down at the toddler running her hand through her long hair, "He, um, he was just telling me that there's nothing I can do," Buffy said looking at Ben hope shining in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm gonna tell you the same thing. Give yourself a break. Listen, your mom's gonna be unconscious for at least another six, seven hours," Ben said.

"A break?" Buffy said confused.

"Well, I just mean go out, get some air. Come back later on this evening, talk to the doc then if you want. My unsolicited advice of the day," Ben said giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze before getting up and leaving them alone.

Buffy sighed leaning her head back so it was resting against the back of her chair. Everything about this just seemed so wrong. It had happened so suddenly, too suddenly she thought sitting up quickly. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that this demon woman arrived in town right about the same time some monk informed her that her body contained some mystical key that would open a portal to god knows where. A monk who had told her that this thing which not be named would come at her through her family. The doctor had been wrong; there was something she could do.

************************************************************************************************

"Excuse me," Anya said as she looked through the receipts of the days takings. The other occupants of the Magic Shop didn't pay her any attention their eyes glued to the books in front of them.

"You'd think I was invisible or something," the ex demon muttered to herself, "I said EXCUSE ME!"

"Anya your yelling is scaring away the customers," Giles said smiling through his teeth at the people browsing the shelves.

"And they could hear you in the next state," Xander said to his girlfriend.

"You sold someone a Khul's amulet and a Sobekian bloodstone," Anya said shaking the receipt in the British man's face.

"Yes I believe I did," Giles said taking the receipt from her and examining it.

"What is wrong with you? Are you mentally challenged or something?" Anya asked him waving her hands in the air.

"Ahn ixnay on the calling the boss stupid," Xander muttered under his breath smiling fakely at Giles.

"You never sell these things together, ever! And you call yourself a Watcher," Anya ignored her boyfriend and grabbed the receipt back from Giles, "Don't you know about the Sobekites?"

"Oh I do I do!" Willow said excitedly raising her hand, "What I get excited by knowledge," she said off Xander's look, "It was an ancient Egyptian cult, heavy into dark magic."

"And the Khul's amulet, wasn't that a transmogrification conduit?" Tara asked looking to Anya for confirmation.

"Damn straight," Anya said.

"Be that as it may, I still see no reason for concern. I mean, the, the Sobekian transmogrification spells were lost thousands of years ago. And besides, the young woman to whom I sold them would have to have had enormous power," he trailed off realisation flitting across his face.

"A young woman," Willow said quietly.

"Oh dear lord," Giles said.

"So this demon woman whose after Buffy's uh key now has some amulet thing and a stone which is of the bad," Xander said his face screwed up in confusion.

"Very bad, very very very bad," Anya nodded scowling at Giles.

"This is so not going to go down well with Buff, oh hey Buff," Xander said noticing the blonde Slayer come in through the front door Faith still sleeping in her arms.

"Buffy hey it's Buffy," Willow said getting out of her chair and standing nervously in front of her friend.

Buffy gave her friends a funny look before turning to her Watcher.

"Giles the doctor said my Mom has some brain tumor but I'm thinking it has to be related to this demon woman right, I mean way too coincidental that she turns up out of the blue and threatens my family right around the same time Mom gets sick. So I figured there has to be some kind of mystical cure, right? I mean, like a, a potion, or a spell or something. We have to look," she said facing her friends whose faces were shocked.

"We can look, I mean, we will, but I haven't seen anything," Willow said placing a comforting hand on her friend's arm.

"Buffy while I want to do as much as I can to help your mother, the truth is the mystical and the medical aren't meant to mix. Sorry, the uh human mind it's very delicate there is too much that can go wrong," Giles added.

"Yeah, I've heard stories about people trying healing spells if, if we did something, it could make things a lot worse, Buffy," Tara said sympathetically.

"And we've just about enough of that for one day haven't we," Anya muttered.

"Why? What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, nothing Anya just broke the cash register, bad for the money you know," Xander said hastily.

"I did not, I would never hurt the money, it was," Anya retorted only to be cut off by Giles.

"Anya, Buffy doesn't need to hear about your uh, clumsiness right now," the Watcher said hurriedly.

"My clumsiness, for goodness sake's that is so," the ex demon stopped when she saw the looks Willow and Xander were shooting her, looking at Buffy she laughed nervously, "so like me, with the clumsiness and the sadness about losing money."

Buffy wasn't fooled she could tell from all of their faces that they were keeping something from her and she really wasn't in the mood to play games with them.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," Giles said taking his glasses off.

"Giles, what's going on?" Buffy asked again her tone indicating she was clearly frustrated.

"The uh, the demon woman was here, the one that attacked you," Giles said.

Buffy's eyes widened and she looked them all over quickly checking for any signs of injury, "What are you guys okay? I mean she didn't hurt anyone did she?"

"No we're all fine, she uh just bought an amulet and a bloodstone it's no biggie," Willow assured her quickly.

"That can create a monster," Anya added.

"Ok okay then big biggie," Willow said guiltily.

"So was the monster here? And how did she get away with all the bad mojo stuff?" Buffy asked looking down at Faith who was stirring on her shoulder.

"Giles sold it to her," Anya whispered and Buffy turned to face her Watcher accusingly.

"I didn't know it was her, I mean how could I?" he held up his hands defensively, "if it's any consolation I think I may have overcharged her."

"Anya figured out what the demon lady is up to," Tara chimed in.

"Yeah, a few thousand years ago there was this cult, the temple of Sobek, the Sobekites they worshipped reptiles," Anya told Buffy. Faith was awake by this stage and was looking around the Magic Box with a confused expression.

"B where's Mama?" she asked groggily.

"You remember how Mom has been getting all those headaches," Faith nodded so Buffy continued trying to keep her voice light, "well the doctors found something in her head that was making her sick so they have to get it out so she can get better."

"She has to have a oparation?" Faith asked.

"Yeah Faithy an operation, and the doctors have to put her to sleep so it doesn't hurt her so when she wakes up we can go and visit okay," Buffy said smiling softly at Faith.

"Is she gonna come home?" Faith asked.

"Not tonight baby she has to stay there until she gets all better," Buffy said.

"But who's gonna tuck me in?" Faith asked.

"I guess I will," Buffy told her.

"Well then who's gonna make sure that my teef are brushed well so that I don't get holes in them?" Faith asked.

"I can do that too," Buffy smiled at her.

"Okay well who's gonna cook dinner 'cause B last time you tried to you made the really loud noise come from the roof, and then the fireman came and you went all red and talked funny," Faith said the other occupants of the room sniggered.

"Stupid smoke alarms," Buffy muttered, "we can eat at the hospital when we go and visit Mom."

"Can we go and visit her now?" Faith asked biting her lip.

"Not yet Faithy she's still sleeping, they will tell us when we're allowed to. Do you think you can be a big girl and stay here with the gang while I go and do some Slayer stuff?" Buffy asked, "Xander's going to need someone to take his mind off all this scary stuff," she said smiling.

"You'll be fast like lightening and come back quickly?" Faith asked.

"You won't even notice I'm gone," Buffy said giving the toddler a peck on the tip of her nose, "okay so what has perm gone wrong got in store for me?" she asked turning to face Anya again.

"Okay so their high priest Khul had great mystic powers. He, um, forged an amulet with transmogrifying crystal," Anya said.

"Transmogrifying is changing a living thing into a different kind of thing," Willow supplied seeing Xander and Buffy's perplexed expressions.

"We've managed to decipher the markings that were on the bloodstone that I sold uh that she left with. Um, cobra. She's going to transmogrify a cobra," Giles told her.

"Okay, so she's making a monster. What for? What does it do?" Buffy asked placing a restless Faith on the floor.

"We're not sure but we're looking into it," Giles told her.

"Okay great, you guys keep looking into it and I'm going to go and kill it," Buffy said determinedly.

"Buffy maybe you should think about this before rushing head long into a potentially disastrous situation," Giles said reaching a hand to her shoulder. He knew if she really didn't want to wait to listen to what he had to say that he wouldn't be able to hold her and he could feel the way her muscles tightened under her skin but she was waiting.

"Giles if this monster has anything to do with why my Mom is sick I want to be the one to destroy it," Buffy said.

"A monster is making Mama sick?" Faith asked and Buffy mentally kicked herself.

"I don't know for sure baby," she said kneeling down so she was at eye level with the young girl, "but I'm going to go and find out and destroy it either way."

"If it's making Mama sick I want to help," Faith said placing her hands on her hips in a defiant gesture, her mannerisms becoming scarily like Buffy's by the day.

"Baby you know I can't let you come with me you're too little," Buffy said and cupping her sister's cheek with one hand.

"No!" Faith cried pulling out of Buffy's reach, "I don't wanna be the sidekick anymore, I wanna hurt the monster that is hurting Mama," she said.

"Sweetheart if it was safe for you to go now I would let you come with me but you're not old enough yet and I don't want you to get hurt," Buffy said trying to reach for Faith again but the toddler had backed herself against the counter just out of reach.

"I AM old enough, you said I was a big girl and I don't wanna stay here if Mama is sick I wanna help," Faith said tears of frustration beginning to leak from the corner of her eyes.

"Faithy if I needed someone to help me I would pick you in an instant because you're my favourite person in the whole wide world, but I wouldn't be able to concentrate on doing my job if you were there because I would be too worried about you to concentrate and I might end up getting hurt, would you want that to happen" Buffy asked.

"No," Faith mumbled scrubbing the tears furiously from her face, "I want my Mama," she said quietly and Buffy could see the fear shining in her eyes. Faith was around them all so much they sometimes forgot that she was only four and when things got scary it was still her mother that she ran too when things got scary, only her mom wasn't there right now.

"I know you do," Buffy said scooting closer on the floor, "but I need you to be brave for a little bit longer and when I get back we can go and see Mom, do you think you can do that?" Buffy asked.

"Brave like superheros," Faith said quietly.

"That's right just like that," Buffy smiled, "Okay," she said standing again Faith's hand held tightly in her own, "I'm going after this thing, I don't care what you guys think I'm not just going to sit around here and do nothing."

"Buffy while I'm all for you kicking this chick's ass, she creamed you last time," Xander said.

"That's because I wasn't ready for her last time. I am now," Buffy said, "I'll be back as soon as I can," she said lifting Faith up and giving her a kiss, "you be good okay, make sure Xander doesn't get too scared," she said handing her over to her male friend, "try and keep her busy so she doesn't think about things too much," she said into his ear.

"Don't worry about anything here you just take care of yourself and come back in one Buffy shaped piece," Xander said.

"That's the plan."

************************************************************************************************

"Faith would love it here," Buffy muttered to herself as she crept into the reptile building.

From her hiding spot she could see the demon woman talking to a snake which was squirming in her grip trying to escape. A scabby faced monk was chanting in an unknown language as the woman placed the snake into a large clay vase. The woman speaks along with him translating his words into English and Buffy watched transfixed as the orb where the snake had been placed began to rattle and shake.

"Dark incantations! Always overwritten!," the woman threw up her hands whirling to face the monk who cowered under her stare, "Why can't they just cut to the," she cut off as Buffy tackled her from the side, slamming her into the nearby wall splinters of plaster sprinkling down on them.

"Fight?" the Slayer added helpfully delivering a brutal kick to the woman's face.

That was all the talking Buffy got in because the woman began to attack her with such ferocity that she had to concentrate on not getting killed rather than delivering quippy puns.

"Dreg I'm not hearing any chanting," the woman yelled as she punched Buffy in the face before throwing her into the wall.

"Yes Glory," the monk stammered before resuming his incantation.

"You know not fair if I have to carry your performance," the curly haired woman said pulling Buffy up by her jacket and throwing her across the room turning her back before the blonde Slayer had even smashed through the glass enclosure not rising again as she hit the floor.

A loud rumbling steals Glory's attention and she smirked as she watched the clay vase shaking and exploding before a giant cobra rose from its depths it's yellow eyes glowing in the dim light of the reptile building.

"He is arisen," Dreg announced.

"About damn time," Glory smirked, "now spawn of Sobek let's talk business," she said throwing her arms around what would be it's neck. Her attention completely focused on the gigantic snake like creature in front of her, Glory did not see Buffy slowly pulling herself to her feet in the enclosure.

"The power is yours to see what is unseen," Glory said stroking the creature's scaly skin as if it were a pet, "To find what is shrouded in shadow. Already, you know what I seek. I have given you form, now find for me the key, the twice blessed. Seek it out in the holy places," Glory said Buffy limped quietly out of the room the creatures hiss covering her painful groan.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let your vision guide you to its hiding place, and then return to me and tell me where it lies," Glory said clapping her hands in excitement, "I love a good treasure hunt don't you?" she said excitedly to Dreg as the two of them watched the demon slither out of the building

************************************************************************************************

Giles reached over the counter to pick up the ringing phone glaring at Anya who was standing next to it filing her nails completely ignoring the shrill ringing sound that had to have been permeating through her subconscious.

"Magic Box," he said.

"Giles it me," Buffy said on the other end.

"Buffy thank god are you alright?" he asked.

"No, no I'm really not," he heard her sigh, "I, I couldn't even stop her Giles, I couldn't even slow her down."

"Where are you?" he asked worriedly.

"Sunnydale Memorial," she answered.

"Are you badly hurt, I'll be right there," Giles said grabbing his keys from behind the counter.

"No. No, I,I just wanted to warn you that that thing she conjured, it's loose, it's a big snake thing. Not mayor big, but it's pretty lethal looking," she said shifting her weight off her right leg and readjusting the ice pack she held on her shoulder.

"Do you know why she raised it?" Giles asked.

"I think it's to find the key, to find me, she told it to find where the twice blessed was hiding and then report it back to her," Buffy said.

"Well I'll warn the others, we'll get weapons and fan out, scan the town," Giles said.

"No, no you guys have to stay there with Faith she was already upset about having to stay behind if you guys started weaponing up she'd get even more upset, I-I just want her to be safe, Giles," she sighed and he could hear the exhaustion in her tone.

"Understood. We'll keep her safe here until you arrive," he assured her.

"Well, my mom's gonna wake up soon, and I should be there when the doctors tell her," Buffy said.

"She's in good hands Buffy, there's nothing this woman could have done to her, you have to leave it up to the doctors now, it's the best you can do," Giles told her.

"I know," Buffy said softly before hanging up.

************************************************************************************************

Her mother had handled the news surprisingly well although Buffy could tell that the touch facade she had put on was purely for her sake but for once she was grateful, she didn't know how she would take it if her mother had broken down. Standing out the front of the Magic Box she looked through the window and watched as Faith laughed at something Xander said to her, telling Faith was going to be torture.

The toddler looked up expectantly as the bell run signalling someone entering the store her face brightening when she noticed the familiar blonde limp in through the door. She scrambled off the floor and raced towards Buffy launching herself into the blonde's arms, missing the Slayer's slight wince as it jolted her sore shoulder.

"You're okay," Faith said wrapping her arms around Buffy's neck, "did you get the monster?"

"I'm okay, I didn't get it but don't worry I will soon," Buffy answered hugging Faith back just as tightly.

"Can we go see Mama yet?" Faith asked.

"Yeah we can, she's very excited to see you," Buffy said smiling.

"Does that mean she can come home with us today?" Faith asked.

"We'll see," Buffy said placing her back on the floor, "go and get your stuff and then we can head over okay, and say thank you to everyone for looking after you."

"Any sign of the reptile monster?" Buffy asked Giles and Willow.

"None, the girls did a small patrol earlier but there was no sign of it," Giles replied.

They didn't have to wait much longer for a snake sighting as the demon crashed loudly through the front window sending glass shards flying through the room. Buffy rushes to meet it at the front of the shop trying to put herself between it and the rest of the group. The demon easily used its tail to throw her into the wall the display cabinet that had been resting against it crashing down on top of her.

The demon hadn't seemed phased by her at all and ignored the rest of them completely slithering its way to loom in front of Faith who had been halfway through packing her toys into her small backpack. The toddler screamed in absolute terror as it's yellow eyes turning red as it stared down at her. Buffy struggled under the display cabinet as she tried to get to Faith the others torn between helping the young girl or helping the blonde Slayer who was trying desperately to save her.

The demon didn't try to attack her just hissed in the young girl's face as she continued to scream in fear. Almost as soon as it had entered the store the demon turned and slithered out through the gigantic hole it had left in the front window.

"Faithy sweetie are you okay?" Willow asked as she and Xander rushed over to comfort the now sobbing toddler.

"Why was the big snake afraid of Faith?" Xander asked turning to look at Giles and Buffy.

"The twice blessed," Giles said under his breath.

"Hidden in the Slayer, oh god," Buffy said her face paling before sprinting out of the shop Giles hot on her heels.

Buffy's heart was pounding in her chest to the rhythm of her heels hitting the concrete as she raced after the snake demon. Her brain couldn't even comprehend what they had just discovered but now that she knew the truth it drove her forward even faster. She couldn't comprehend what would happen if the demon got back to his mistress, what it would mean for the innocent, beautiful and life changing little girl that she now called her sister, but she wouldn't let it.

At this rate though it seemed that the demon was gaining ground and she was entirely grateful when Giles pulled up in his car hardly bothering to wait for him to stop before jumping into the passenger's seat.

"I've gotta stop this monster before it gets back to Glory," she said to him as the wind whipped her hair around her face.

"Glory?" Giles asked concentrating on the road.

"It's what they monk minion guy called her. Giles, she's gonna know that Faith's the key if we don't," she trailed off not even letting herself think what would happen.

"We will," Giles said pushing the car even faster.

The car couldn't fit through the fence the monster had disappeared through and Buffy didn't spare her Watcher a second glance as she jumped out and raced through the chain link fence that led into the Sunnydale parklands. Grabbing a piece of chain that hung across the gate she used a rock to launch herself through the air and onto the creature's back wrapping the chain around its neck as she landed. The snake demon thrashed as she pulled the chain tighter hissing and snarling as it tried to buck her off. Her anger and fear seemed to lend her extra strength and she pulled the chain impossibly tighter not letting go until the demon went slack giving one final hiss as it slumped to the ground.

The events of the past days finally catching up with her she couldn't stop the tears that fell as she punched the demon corpse over and over screaming at it for all the injustices that seemed to befall her family. Taking a shuddering breath she managed to finally pull herself together using the sleeve of her jacket to wipe the tears from her face and making sure she was presentable before turning and walking back to where her Watcher was waiting.

************************************************************************************************

"Now remember Mom's going to be pretty tired after her operation so we have to be quiet and not talk too loudly," Buffy told the young girl in her arms as the two of them walked towards their mother's hospital room.

"I know B you told me already," Faith said practically chomping at the bit to see her mother.

"I'll uh just wait out here," Giles said having driven them to the hospital.

They entered the room cautiously, Buffy still not used to seeing her mother look so small. Joyce could usually commandeer a room with her presence but there in the hospital gown with the bandage on her head she looked almost tiny.

"Well there's my girls," Joyce smiled at them as they entered.

"Someone is very excited to see you," Buffy said depositing Faith on the bed softly.

"I'm happy you're here to honey I've missed my little pumpkin belly," Joyce said pulling Faith to her chest.

"I missed you too Mama, I'm glad you had the oparation so that you're not going to be sick anymore," Faith said snuggling her head down on Joyce's chest.

"Do you want me to stay while you talk to her?" Buffy asked her mother.

"No I'm fine, I should probably tell her on her own," Joyce said over Faith's head.

"Okay, well Giles is outside so I guess I'll just wait out there with him," she said leaning over and kissing her mother on the cheek.

"Stay close," Joyce said to her.

Buffy closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall making sure she left the door to her mother's room slightly ajar.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked causing her to nod opening her eyes slowly to look at the man in front of her. A man who had been so much more than her actual father who hadn't bothered to return her call when she had left a message telling him that her mother was sick.

"Minimal damage of the fighting kind, it's all the other kind," she replied.

"You are handling this all remarkably well and I'm very proud of you," Giles said pulling her quickly into a hug before pulling back and wiping away a stray tear that had made its way down her cheek.

"It's okay to let it out, you're not the Slayer here no one will judge you it's okay to be a daughter who is scared for her mother," Giles said his hand still resting against her shoulder.

"I can't," Buffy said pulling back and wiping her hands hurriedly across her eyes, "Not now, they need me and if I start I don't think I'll be able to stop."

"I am here if you need anything," her Watcher told her, "and I will look into this key thing as soon as I get home, we won't let anyone hurt her."

"Thanks for coming, just, thanks," Buffy said turning her head as she heard her mother call her name, "I should get back in there."

"Of course, I will talk to you in the morning, give my best to your mother," Giles said.

She put a smile on her face before she entered back into the room. Her mother was going to explain it as best as she could to the young girl, but she wasn't sure if Faith would be able to grasp the concept of cancer. It was evident that the toddler had been crying the remnants of tear tracks evident on her cheeks but she was giggling as Joyce tickled her belly when Buffy squashed onto the bed next to them.

"What did I miss?" she asked lying on the other side of her mother resting her head on her chest as well so she and Faith were looking into each other's eyes.

"Mama said if we're good we can have a sleepover at the hospital," Faith said.

"Are we even allowed to do that?" Buffy asked.

"I'm thinking a bit of feigned sleep and sweet talking will go down wonders," Joyce said, "but tomorrow morning I want the two of you to go home and get some proper food, Faith here informs me Xander fed her doughnuts for dinner."

"Of course because doughnuts are the other white meat," Buffy smirked closing her eyes as she felt her mother's hands stroking through her hair.

"B, did you get the monster this time?" Faith asked her quietly.

"Yeah Faithy, the monster is gone, he isn't going to hurt you," Buffy sighed feeling the exhaustion finally catching up with her.

**A/N: A really really long chapter, sorry if it's too much but I didn't want to split it up. Hope you're enjoying the story. I know a few of you picked some stuff before it happened so well done to you and keep reviewing and reading I love hearing what you guys think.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Faith why do you have so much stuff?" Buffy asked watching as the toddler pulled an overflowing backpack behind her down the stairs leaving various items in a trail behind her as they fell out.

"I don't want Mama to get bored so I'm bringing her some stuff to play with," Faith told her.

"As much as she would appreciate the thought I don't think she'll really want to play with your action figures, I've got some books and crosswords packed for her," Buffy said.

"But she likes playing with me," Faith's face fell.

"Of course she does but she needs some grown up things to do," Buffy told her, "take some of it out and you can bring some stuff to play with for yourself I don't know how long we're going to stay there."

"Ben was nice for not getting mad at us like Mama thought he would this morning," Faith said referring to earlier in the morning when Ben had come round to do his rounds and discovered that Buffy and Faith had stayed the night in their mother's hospital room.

"You certainly come in useful sometimes that's for sure," Buffy smirked remembering the way they had pushed Faith forward and let the toddler work her charms.

"B, now that Mama had her oparation she's gonna be okay isn't she?" Faith asked suddenly pulling Buffy out of her memory.

"Come here," Buffy said sitting on the bottom step and pulling Faith so that she was sitting in her lap, "Mom told you what was wrong with her didn't she?" she asked.

"Uh huh, she said she got Caner in her head and it was making her feel sick," Faith said turning her head so she could look at Buffy's face.

"Cancer, not Caner," Buffy corrected, "the first operation was to find out what it was making her sick she will probably have to have another one so they can take it out," Buffy told her sister.

"But she's gonna be the same," Faith asked.

"She might be sick for awhile longer that's why you and I are going to have to help her out but eventually she will be back to normal," Buffy said assuring Faith as well as herself.

"We will have to be Mama's Mama and look after her," Faith smiled.

"Something like that," Buffy laughed lifting Faith off her lap and setting her on the floor, "come on let's go Mom's probably wondering what's taking us so long."

"Okay," Faith said pulling some of the toys out of her backpack so that it could zip up, "Oh wait," she said suddenly dropping the bag back on the floor and racing back up the stairs. Buffy watched her go shaking her head in confusion.

"I forgot this," Faith said slightly breathless as she came back down the stairs her stuffed cow in her hand.

"Mr. Darcy, Faithy I don't know if we'll be allowed to stay over again tonight, we'll probably be coming back home to sleep tonight you don't need to bring him with you it's just more to carry," Buffy said.

"It's not for me it's for Mama so she can have him at night time and not be scared in the hosital," Faith told her.

"You know Faithy sometimes you're just too damn cute for your own good," Buffy said swooping down and covering Faith's face in kisses.

"I'm not cute," Faith pouted pulling back.

"Whoops sorry my bad I forgot you were wicked cool," Buffy teased.

"I'm more cooler than you are," Faith said her eyes twinkling when she realised Buffy was only teasing.

"Oh we'll have to see about that," Buffy said scooping her up and slinging her over her shoulder while Faith squealed with laughter, "if you were so cool you could have totally seen that coming," Buffy teased scooping their bags up in her other arm.

"Let's go supercool we've got a Mom to go and see."

***********************************************************************************************

"My girls are back," Joyce brightened immediately when Buffy and Faith came into her hospital room.

"We are back and we bring presenty goodness, well maybe not so much as presenty goodness but ways to keep mom from going stir crazy goodness," Buffy said depositing the bag filled with books and crosswords on the end of the bed.

"And I bought you Mr. Darcy so you can hug him at night time and not be scared," Faith said handing her mother the stuffed cow.

"Well that's very thoughtful of you but I'm hoping I won't have to stay in here another night," Joyce said pulling Faith up onto the bed with her where the toddler immediately began to dig into the green jello that was sitting on the tray in front of them.

"God Faith how can you eat that it looks disgusting," Buffy crinkled her nose in disgust as she settled herself in the chair next to her mother's bed.

"It's yummy," Faith said taking another piece.

"Well help yourself sweetheart, there's just something about food that moves by itself that gives me the heebie-jeebies," Joyce said as she and Buffy laughed as the wiggly food escaped Faith's grasp and shot across the plate.

They looked up as the door opened and the kind faced doctor who had been treating Joyce since her operation entered.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Kriegel, um, you know my girls Buffy and Faith," Joyce said warmly putting her arm around Faith's shoulders.

"Yes of course, I heard about your little sleepover last night," Dr. Kriegel said his eyes twinkling.

"Just keeping her company," Buffy said.

"It's alright, just be careful you're not wearing her out," Dr. Kriegel said checking Joyce's chart.

"Wearing me out, these two were snoring long before I was worn out," Joyce laughed.

"I know I did rounds last night," Dr. Kriegel said joining Joyce's laughter.

"Faithy I'm not certain but I'm pretty sure that they're teasing us," Buffy said to her sister.

"B don't be mean to him or there won't be anymore jello," Faith said putting another piece of the green dessert in her mouth and the other three occupants of the room laughed.

"You don't have to worry about them wearing me out I think I woke up exhausted, there's really no more exhausted to get," Joyce said and Buffy's smile instantly fell from her face and she reached over to grab her mother's hand. Joyce smiled at her reassuringly and rubbed her thumb over the back of Buffy's hand as they waited for Dr. Kriegel to finish reading the chart.

"Well, maybe some good news will help. The blood work's come back from the lab, and everything seems fine. So, we've scheduled your surgery for day after tomorrow at ten in the morning," Dr. Kriegel said, "how does that sound to you?"

"Well darn I had volleyball scheduled for that day but I suppose we can work around it," Joyce said sarcastically.

"All right. Joyce, you take care. Make sure you get some good solid rest. And I mean that," he said looking pointedly at Buffy and Faith before he left.

"I don't like what he was insinuating with that look, you would think we were taking you to a rave or something," Buffy pouted folding her arms back across her chest.

"Uhh, the day after tomorrow. I don't think I can stand to stay here another two days just waiting," Joyce sighed resting her head back against her pillow.

"Waiting? Gimme a break, we got, we got tons to do," Buffy scoffed.

"B said that you wouldn't wanna play with me but I said that you don't always have to play grown up games," Faith said getting up and sitting on Joyce's stomach. Buffy started to get up from her chair but her mother signalled that she was fine.

"That's nice sweetheart but I don't expect you to stay here," Joyce said, "Buffy I know you've got patrolling to do."

"Not tonight," Buffy said, "tonight I have taking care of mom to do and making sure Faithy doesn't break any expensive hospital equipment duty."

"I didn't mean to pull the shelf over I was just looking," Faith pouted.

"Besides we've already been home all day, we had showers and non-hospital food we'd much rather spend the night with you," Buffy said putting her feet up on the bed.

"Mama does it hurt?" Faith asked reaching forward tentatively and touching the bandage on her mother's head.

"Faithy be gentle," Buffy said starting to reach for the young girl's hand.

"It hurts a little bit but it'll be much better if I get a kiss from my baby," Joyce said smiling and clasping Faith's small hand in her own. Faith smiled and leaned forward placing a sloppy kiss on her mother's lips.

"Now it doesn't hurt at all," she told Buffy proudly.

"One of your many special powers, the healing power of Faith drool," Buffy said rolling her eyes and grabbing a book from the bag they had brought with them.

"She's just jealous," Joyce whispered in Faith's ear. They all looked towards the door when it opened and Ben walked in smiling when he spotted Buffy and Faith.

"Ah my favourite stowaways," he said smiling at them, "am I having another night of pretending that I didn't see you?" he asked.

"Can we stay Mama, can we please," Faith said bouncing slightly on her mother's stomach. Joyce laughed but Buffy could tell that the bouncing wasn't helping so she lifted Faith off her mother's stomach and pulled her over onto the chair with her.

"I don't know honey, I'd love to have you stay but it's up to Buffy she may not want to spend the night in this teensy bed, she's not as small as you," Joyce said.

"Come on B, can we stay, it won't be too squishy you can have my space please," Faith whined resting her hands on Buffy's shoulders. Buffy looked over at her mother to confirm that it was alright and Joyce nodded a slight smile at the corner of her lips.

"It's okay with me as long as Ben doesn't get Mom in trouble," Buffy said smirking.

Faith scrambled off Buffy's lap nearly falling flat on her face in her haste, it was only Buffy's quick hands that stopped her from completely face planting. Shrugging off her sister's hands the toddler raced over to stand in front of the man looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"Ben please don't tell on Mama, B says we gotta be Mama's Mama and when I'm sick I want my Mama there so we gotta be here so she doesn't feel bad and then we can make her feel better," she pleaded.

"And if you understood that then you deserve a medal," Buffy smirked.

"Don't worry Faith I won't get your Mom in trouble," Ben said ruffling the young girl's hair obviously smitten with her, "usually family members aren't allowed to stay overnight but everyone here doesn't seem to be able to say no to that face," Ben said to Joyce.

"We really appreciate it Ben seriously, you will be getting the doctor of the year award," Buffy told him.

"It's no problem, I think families should be able to stay as long as they want, the patients always seem to be much happier with them around but what would I know I'm just a lowly junior physician," he said.

"Well I think it's working, I feel better already," Joyce said.

"Good to hear, now girls if you're going to stay you have to make sure your mom gets lots of rest okay," he told him.

"Mama can play with my Batman and she doesn't even gotta get out of bed," Faith told him nodding her head.

"That sounds like a good plan," Ben told her, "now Faith can I trust you with something?" he asked kneeling down so he was at her level.

"I'm really trusted," she said.

"Okay well I need you to be Dr. Faithy and wear this," he said placing a stethoscope around her neck, "and you need to make sure that your mom is doing everything that Dr. Kriegel and myself told her to do can you do that for me?" he asked.

The toddler agreed excitedly and after showing her how to use the stethoscope Ben assured Joyce he would be in to check in on them again later left them to their evening alone.

"Let me do it again Mama," Faith whined later on that night.

"Honey you've already listened to my heart twenty times why don't you give Buffy's a listen for awhile," Joyce said wearily. Noticing that her mother was obviously getting tired she grabbed Faith off the bed and placed her on her own lap.

"Come on Dr. Faith give Mom a rest for awhile," Buffy said jumping a little when the cool stethoscope hit her skin.

"What's the verdict Doc?" she asked after Faith had been listening for a few seconds.

"It's different to Mama's it goes a lot slower," Faith said pulling the stethoscope away from Buffy's chest.

"That's because Buffy is a lot fitter then I am," Joyce said.

"Faithy do you want to get into your PJ's?" Buffy asked her sister.

"How come you have my jama's even though you said we probably wouldn't be able to have a sleepover?" Faith asked once again startling Buffy with her ability to recall details.

"Wishful thinking," Buffy winked, "I also have clothes for tomorrow."

"You should also get you two something to eat I don't want her only dinner to be green jello," Joyce said.

"Okay, lets get you pajamafied and me into some sweats and then we'll go on a hurt for something a little more foodlike," Buffy said placing Faith on the ground and grabbing the bag off the end of her mother's bed, "we'll be back soon, don't do anything too crazy while we're gone," she said to her mother.

"I can't promise anything," Joyce smiled.

***********************************************************************************************

"So what do you feel like Faithy?" Stale egg sandwich or weird looking brown stuff in a cup?" Buffy asked her sister as they stood in front of the vending machine. Taking in Faith's screwed up nose she laughed, "Yeah you're right two egg sandwiches it is," Buffy said pushing the appropriate buttons.

"B I wanna walk," Faith protested as they walked back down the hospital hallway.

"Baby I told you before you've only got your socks on and they'd get all dirty if you walked," Buffy told the pyjama clad toddler stopping when the young girl dropped one of their sandwiches.

"Whoopsie," Faith said peering down at the dropped food.

"Lucky hospital food is so hardy," a voice said picking the food up before Buffy had a chance to bend down to retrieve it.

"Ben," Faith said excitedly taking the sandwich from him.

"Hey Doc, how's the patient? Is she behaving?" he asked.

"Yeah she's being good," Faith said using the stethoscope on Ben's chest.

"Really?" Ben asked Buffy.

"I think she's okay considering, I mean she's tired but that's to be expected right?" Buffy asked.

"Definitely of the norm," Ben said as they reached Joyce's room.

"How's my ticker Doctor am I going to make it?" Ben asked Faith when she pulled the stethoscope back.

"Yep, you're gonna be okay," Faith giggled as he ruffled her hair.

"Good to hear, tell your Mom I will be in to check on her later," he said smiling at them before heading back down the corridor.

"We have to be quiet baby," Buffy said noticing that Joyce was asleep when they came back into the room. Buffy sat Faith on the floor in front of the chair she had been sitting on earlier and handed her the sandwich she had unwrapped.

"This is yucky," Faith said after she had swallowed her first mouthful.

"I know but you have to eat it otherwise you'll be hungry tomorrow we'll go out and get some proper food I promise," Buffy said quietly.

"And icecream?" Faith asked.

"We'll see," Buffy smiled.

*********************************************************************************************

Buffy opened her eyes and groaned at the crick in her neck wondering what had woken her up. The hospital never turned the lights out completely and in the dim glow she could see her mother was still asleep in the hospital bed and she could feel the warm still weight that told her that Faith was tucked tightly against her chest.

"Sorry I woke you," she looked up groggily and recognition filled her senses when she spotted Ben standing at the end of Joyce's bed, chart in hand.

"Oh that's okay," she said her voice husky from sleep, "how's she doing?"

"Blood pressure's normal and her stats look good," Ben assured her.

"Good, good that's good," Buffy said shifting in the chair.

"B," Faith mumbled lifting her head off Buffy's chest, "is it time to get up?"

"No baby I'm sorry I woke you, it's okay you go back to sleep," Buffy said gently pushing Faith's head back down.

"Kay," Faith murmured her eyes slipping closed as she placed her thumb in her mouth.

"I wanted to thank you again for letting us stay," Buffy said to Ben.

"It's no problem really, get some sleep," Ben said kindly.

Buffy tried to get comfortable on the chair they were sitting in but she couldn't find a position in which her hips didn't ache. Sighing, she gathered Faith up in her arms and managed to slide into bed next to her mother. Joyce stirred and opened her eyes her expression softening when she saw Buffy and Faith in the bed next to her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry but I was getting all sore," Buffy apologised.

"It's okay honey there's plenty of room," Joyce said scooting over in the bed so Buffy could situate Faith in-between them.

"Are you scared?" Buffy asked her mother quietly.

"A little," Joyce admitted her gaze not wavering from the sleeping toddler's face, "I'm more scared that you and Faith will be on your own if something goes wrong," she said running a finger down Faith's cheek and finally meeting Buffy's gaze.

"Mom," Buffy said her voice choking up.

"I'll be okay," Joyce said wrapping her arm over both of her daughters.

"Yes you will," Buffy said clearing her throat, "you just concentrate on getting better you don't have to worry about us."

************************************************************************************************

"Care package! Special delivery for the Summers girls," Willow said breezing in through Joyce's hospital room the next morning, "Now, let's see what I have in this sack of mine. Oh, I feel just like Santa Claus, except thinner and younger and female and, well, Jewish," Joyce smiled as Willow reached into her bag.

"This," the redheaded witch said to Faith who was sitting next to Joyce on the bed, is an extra-special gift for your mom that I know she'll need. A beer hat! See, i-it's got cup holders, and a straw that goes directly into your mouth, and you can fill it with other stuff than beer. And somehow, when I was in the store this seemed like the most important idea and now there's the whole part where I'm crazy," Willow babbled her face reddening.

"It's perfect Willow thank you, it's very sweet," Joyce said smiling warmly and taking the hat from the witch and placing it on the bed next to her grimacing slightly as she put a hand to her head.

"Headache?" Buffy asked her concerned.

"Just a little one. A biggish little one," Joyce said waving her hands in Willows direction when she realised the redhead was looking at her anxiously, "I'm fine! Go on, what else is in that sack of goodies, Willow," Joyce said pulling Faith into her lap.

"All right, Faithy to keep you busy," Willow said pulling something out of the bag, "the game of Operation so you can pretend to be a real doctor," she said handing the game to the young girl.

"Wicked thanks but Wilwow I am a real doctor Ben gave me a ste-st-stet, he gave me this," Faith said showing the witch the stethoscope hanging around her neck, "will you play with me Mama?" Joyce nodded and the two began to set up the game.

"Oh and Buffy I didn't forget you," Willow said pulling a history book out of the bag.

"Homework? Oh I so don't believe in tiny Jewish Santa anymore," Buffy pouted taking the book from her friend.

"And a yo-yo," Willow said wiggling her eyebrows and handing it to Buffy.

"Much better thanks," Buffy said taking it from her.

"The book is just in case you get a chance to look it over," Willow told her, "We're doing World War One now. The last exam was really pretty easy, just underlying causes and trench foot. So it should be no hassle to make it up."

"With all that's been going on lately I'm not even sure I'm going to take that exam," Buffy sighed running a hand through her hair.

They both looked up in shock as Faith's game was knocked off the bed and onto the floor, "I'd rip it in half and stick it in bed with me!" Joyce scowled.

"Mom?" Buffy asked tentatively.

"You know, I think I'm gonna take a little rest now," Joyce said looking confused.

"Okay. We'll be right outside if you need us," Buffy said worriedly as she picked Faith up off the bed and rested her on her hip.

"Feel better," Willow said softly as Joyce rested her head back on her pillow and closed her eyes.

"Why did Mama say that," Faith said looking between Buffy and Willow as they stepped outside the room.

"She's going to be fine," Willow said comfortingly.

"It's okay. I'm sorry, the doctor spoke to me, and, the, the thing that's pressing on her brain, sometimes it, it might make her say weird things," Buffy said to her sister.

"Does she remember?" Faith asked.

"Not really. It's sort of like a flash, you know, but you saw her two seconds afterward. She was normal," Buffy said.

"And after the operation, no more pressing. She'll be all normal all the time," Willow said smiling.

"All the time," Faith asked Buffy.

"Hey Santa doesn't lie," Buffy smiled.

"But Wilwow's not really Santa is she?" Faith asked and Buffy smirked at the slightly uncertain tone in the young girl's voice.

"Do I look like I have a fat belly and white beard," Willow said tweaking the toddler on the nose.

"You've got the jolly down though," Buffy smirked, "Oh excuse me," she said as she bumps into a man with two women at his side.

"Careful, the facts say a, a picnic is in order," the man said sweat running down his forehead, "What is that thing?" the man said pointing at Faith who shrunk back against Buffy, "There-there's no data. There's no pictures on this one there!" the man said his voice raising as he continued to point at Faith.

"B," Faith said looking up at her sister a terrified expression on her face.

"It's okay baby," Buffy said pushing Faith's face gently into the crook of her neck and stroking her hair, "don't worry about it," she said pulling Willow with her as they continued on down the hall.

"What's wrong with him?" Faith asked as they turned to look back at the man, "is he sick like Mama?"

"I don't think so, I, I think it's, it's different. Don't, don't worry about it," Buffy said brushing the hair away from Faith's forehead and giving her a quick kiss.

"I guess I missed that, was he bothering you?" Ben asked approaching them.

"Hey Ben, uh, this is my friend Willow," Buffy said introducing them.

"And, uh, yeah, the crazy man was a little you know, crazy, but it's okay. Are they really gonna send him home?" Buffy asked him.

"Don't get me started. The mental ward's booked beyond capacity, literally nowhere to put them, so the ones with families, they're letting 'em go home. Like his family's gonna be able to take care of him. He has to have someone to watch him 24-7! What was he saying to Faith?" he asked.

"Oh, he was just babbling," Buffy said tightening her hold on Faith.

************************************************************************************************

"This thing doesn't work! It isn't working!" Joyce said irritatededly pushing the nurses call button.

"I'm sure they heard you," Buffy said taking the button from her mother and looking over to Faith who was oblivious, immersed in her new game.

"I bet it's not even hooked up to anything. Just like the push buttons at the crosswalk that are supposed to make the signal change," Joyce said wringing her hands together and looking towards the door.

"I'm sure someone's on, wait those push buttons aren't hooked up to anything?" Buffy said wrinkling her eyebrows and looking up as Dr. Kriegel entered the room.

"Oh, tell him, Buffy. Tell him, okay?" Joyce said grabbing at Buffy's hand.

"Look, Dr. Kriegel, we wanna go home," Buffy said.

"Well, of course. You can come back and visit your mother first thing in the morning," Dr. Kriegel said looking up from the chart.

"No. We. I, I mean, all of us. My mom too," Buffy told him as Joyce nodded furiously next to her.

"Oh. Well, I understand that, but it's not necessarily the first thing I'd recommend," Dr. Kriegel said is eyebrows furrowed.

"I can't! I-I can't stay here waiting for two days for this operation, I just can't. It makes my head hurt to be here, can't you tell that?" Joyce said agitatedly.

"Joyce, there's no reason to get upset," Dr. Kriegel said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"No reason to get upset? Oh, right, sorry, I must just think there is because of my brain tumor!" Joyce said her voice rising. Faith stood up from her game and walked slowly over to where Buffy was standing and held her hands up. Buffy looked down and smiled assuring at the toddler bending over to pick her up.

"It's okay," she whispered into the young girl's ear as she buried her face in the crook of Buffy's neck.

"I, I'm sorry I said that, I'm just tired," Joyce said looking up at Buffy and Faith apologetically and reaching a hand out to rest on Faith's back.

"I know. Listen, Doctor, I don't see why we can't take her home, you know, just until the operation, I, I mean, wouldn't it be better for her to rest someplace where she felt safe and comfortable?" Buffy tried to reason with the doctor.

"Even if it would mean some work for you, taking care of her?" the doctor aimed his question at Buffy.

"Oh thank God," Joyce said leaning back against the bed in relief her hand dropping from Faith's back.

"I'll do it, anything," Buffy said rubbing Faith's back.

"There are medications to administer, I'd have to go over those with you, and I'd need for you to check her vitals, watch her pretty closely. I'm afraid you won't get a lot of sleep," Dr. Kriegel sighed shaking his head.

"I'm not much of a sleep person anyway," Buffy shrugged.

"Can we go now? Let's go now," Joyce said anxiously trying to get out of the bed.

"Hold on," Buffy said balancing Faith on one hip and holding her mother down with the other, "Lemme get all the medications and all the instructions on how to do everything."

"She's right I'll be right back with your mother's prescriptions," Dr. Kriegel said.

"Here that Faithy we get to take Mom home for the night," Buffy said deliberately making her tone light.

"That's good," Faith said softly turning her head so that it still rested against Buffy's shoulder but so she could see her mother as well.

"I'm just going to get changed," Joyce said getting out of bed, "how would everyone look at me if I went out in a nightgown."

"B made me go out in my pyjamas one time and I felt real silly," Faith told her mother.

"Do you need any help?" Buffy asked.

"No, I'll be fine, I'll call you if I get into trouble," Joyce said taking her things into the bathroom.

"You're being very brave baby," Buffy said kissing Faith on the forehead and placing her down on the bed.

"Okay, here are the instructions for your mother's prescriptions and I'll just need you to sign these forms to say you're leaving against medical advice," Dr. Kriegel said handing the paperwork over to Buffy.

"Okay, well I think we're all set then," looking over the paper work Buffy handed back to him. Joyce came out of the bathroom fully dressed and sat on the bed beside Faith.

"You've got my home phone number, pager number, and here, these are the medications I talked to you about. The sedative and so forth, painkillers," Dr. Kriegel said handing Buffy a sheet of paper and three pill bottles.

"Right, no problem," Buffy said looking at the bottles slightly apprehensively.

"Now, if this is gonna be too much for you, we can make your mom perfectly comfortable here," Dr. Kriegel said catching her look.

"No. No, no, I, I got this. We really, really appreciate it," Buffy said.

"You look just like your father when he cries," Joyce said suddenly grabbing Buffy's arm.

"I,I told you she's been," Buffy said waving her hand.

"I know. Joyce?" Dr. Kriegel said to Joyce but she doesn't tear her gaze from Buffy, "Joyce," he tries again and this time she looks at him, "We're all done here. Why don't you take your girls home now," he said kindly.

"Yes. Yes, thank you. Thank you for all your help, doctor," Joyce said standing from the bed.

"Yeah thanks Dr. Kriegel," Buffy said picking Faith up.

"Mr. Doctor and I allowed to keep this it's what Ben gave to me," Faith asked holding the stethoscope out.

"Of course Ben must have given it to you for a reason," Dr. Kriegel smiled.

"He says that I'm Dr. Faith now," Faith told him.

"Well Dr. Faith you make sure you're a good girl for your mom and help your sister out at home alright and I'll see you all in a couple of days, Dr. Kriegel said shaking Joyce's hand before walking off down the hall.

"Oh, let's get the hell out of here," Joyce said linking her arm through Buffy's as the three of them headed towards the exit.

**A/N: Reviews please, I need motivation. **


	10. Chapter 10

Buffy handed her mother a glass of water to help her swallow the pills that the doctor had given to her. Faith sat on the bed beside her watching in apprehension as Joyce swallowed the handful of brightly coloured pills.

"They're not bad medicine are they B?" the young girl asked looking to her sister for confirmation.

"No, they're from the doctor so it's safe," Buffy said pulling the covers over her mother and placing a kiss on her mother's forehead as Joyce smiled at her gratefully, "Say goodnight to Mom Faithy and then we'll run you a bath."

Faith lent over to copy Buffy's actions but pulled back as Joyce sat up and gasped pushing to toddler away from her.

"Don't touch me, yo-you're dirty," Joyce said pushing herself back against the headboard.

"Mama," Faith whimpered her lower lip trembling as she looked between her mother and Buffy who had gone to hang up Joyce's robe.

"Get away from me," Joyce said her eyes wide with fear, "You're blood it's tainted, you don't belong here."

"Mom," Buffy said uncertainly coming to stand behind Faith.

"You're not so special, I don't even know how you got here," Joyce said to Faith.

"Mom it's Faith," Buffy said pulling the crying toddler up into her arms.

This seemed to pull their mother out of her state and she looked up at her girls in confusion a look that was quickly replaced with concern when she saw Faith's tears.

"Faith honey what's wrong?" Joyce asked concerned but Faith turned from her and buried her face in the crook of Buffy's neck.

"It's okay mom she's just tired, and you are as well. Come on lie down and try and get some sleep and after I've put her to bed I'll come in and check on you as well," Buffy said coaxing her mother to lie down and tucking her in.

Buffy carried Faith into her bedroom and got out some pyjama's for the younger girl to wear before taking her into the bathroom. The toddler was unusually silent as Buffy got her in the bath and after her earlier tears she seemed to be deep in thought about something.

"Does Mama hate me?" she asked Buffy eventually her voice wavering.

"What, oh no Faithy she doesn't hate you, she loves you," Buffy said tipping the young girls head back tenderly and pouring water over it, "she's not herself at the moment it's the tumour in her head that's making her say all these things, she doesn't mean them."

"But other people sayed things to me too," Faith said and the toddler didn't seem to be upset just waiting to see what Buffy's answers would be.

"You mean the man at the hospital?" Buffy asked her.

"Uh huh and another man when we were at Grandpa Giles' shop and me and Tawa were outside he sayed I shouldn't be here," Faith said, "did I do something bad?"

"No baby it's not your fault. I think there's something wrong with these people's brains, like Mom's when they're sick and it makes them think that nothing is real, if anyone says anything like that to you again don't listen, even if it's Mom," Buffy told her.

"I hate it," Faith said quietly as she allowed Buffy to lift her out of the bath and wrap her in a towel.

"I know but just don't listen okay," Buffy said pulling Faith's pyjama top over her head, "come on let's get you to bed," she said lifting Faith up onto her hip.

"Can't I stay with you for a bit longer?" Faith asked wrapping her arms around Buffy's neck.

"I guess so, what do you say to some hot cocoa?" Buffy asked carrying Faith down the stairs.

"And cookies?" Faith asked excitedly.

"Maybe one, but don't tell Mom she'll get me in trouble for giving you cookies after dinner," Buffy said.

"I won't tell B I promise," Faith said crossing her heart.

"Okay go sit on the couch and turn the TV on and I'll get the cocoa and cookies," Buffy said putting Faith on the floor.

When Buffy returned Faith was sitting on the couch her feet barely making it over the edge. She had her thumb in her mouth and was flicking channels on the remote with her other hand.

"Anything good on?" Buffy asked her.

"Nope, so can we watch Scooby Doo again?" Faith asked. Xander had gotten the young girl a couple of Scooby Doo DVD's after she had heard them referring to their group as the Scooby gang and the toddler had been obsessed with them ever since.

"Again, Faithy we have watched them a million times already," Buffy whined putting their food on the coffee table. To be honest she usually found it hard to say no to her little sister the toddler had a way of unintentionally wrapping you around her little sister and didn't actually mind watching the cartoons.

"Aw come on B they're real funny and I promise I won't talk all the way through like I did last time," Faith pleaded.

"Oh okay," Buffy winked and put the DVD on.

She helped Faith drink her drink and then settled the young girl on her lap and handed her the cookie.

"Try not to get all messy I already gave you a bath," Buffy said wincing as Faith took a bite from her cookie and a bit of the chocolate chip smeared by her mouth.

"It's yummy," Faith said taking another bite.

"As long as you keep it off your," Buffy winced as Faith used her clean pyjamas to wipe her hands on, "pyjamas," the blonde Slayer sighed mentally adding them to the pile of clothes waiting for her to wash in the laundry.

"B do you think Mama will let us get a puppy?" Faith asked as they settled in to watch the cartoon dog on the screen. Buffy's mind flashed back to a conversation had with teenage Faith about her mother not letting her have a dog and she paused from the negative answer she had been going to give.

"I don't know baby, maybe when she's had this operation you can ask her about it," Buffy said putting her arms around Faith's middle.

"I never had a puppy before," Faith said softly and Buffy smiled at her stroking her hair.

Half an hour later Faith had her hands over her ears as they heard their mother rambling nonsense from upstairs. Buffy leaned forward and turned the television up louder in order to block at the unnerving muttering. She reached up and gently pulled Faith's hand from over her ears and hugged her tighter to her body.

"It's okay," she whispered into the young girl's ear dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

"Maybe Mama doesn't want to be by herself," Faith said to Buffy.

"She's just confused baby she doesn't know what she's saying but she needs to get some rest so we have to leave her be so she can go to sleep," Buffy told her.

"I don't want her to be sad," Faith said.

"She's not sad just tired," Buffy assured her.

"B how come you're so brave?" Faith asked.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"When I get scared you're not and you can make me feel better and when Mama is scary 'cause of the cancer you're real brave," Faith said.

"It's my job as the big sister to make sure you're alright and making sure you're okay helps me be brave," Buffy told her.

"Sometimes you don't have to be brave," Faith said quietly snuggling deeper into Buffy's embrace, once again startling Buffy with her perceptiveness.

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Buffy stroked her hand up and down the back of the sleeping toddler she held in her arms as she sat next to her mother's hospital bed. The two of them hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because of Joyce's ramblings upstairs and Faith had crashed a little while ago. She was holding her mother's hand in her free hand as a nurse inserted an IV needle in preparation for Joyce's surgery later in the day.

"Buffy, uh, I'm gonna ask you something, a-and if I'm, if I'm being crazy you just tell me, okay?" Joyce asked after the nurse left.

"You got it," Buffy nodded smiling.

"The other day well, actually, I'm, I'm not sure when, the days seem to all bleed together," Joyce said.

"It's not important," Buffy said rubbing her thumb comfortingly over the back of her mother's hand.

"No, I guess it isn't. I do know I was pretty out of it, and I had not-not a dream exactly, more like I had this knowledge, i-it just came to me like truth, you know? Even though it didn't seem possible, even though I shouldn't even think such things," Joyce paused.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"That Faith, she, she's not like us is she?" Joyce asked.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked startled.

"There's something about her, it, it makes her different, special," Joyce continued as if trying to wrap her mind around what she was saying.

"Yes," Buffy said.

"She's important though, to the world though, precious isn't she?" Joyce asked.

"Yes she is and when you get through this I will tell you all about it," Buffy promised.

"We have to take care of her, Buffy promise me that if anything happens to me, if I don't come through this," Joyce said but Buffy cut her off.

"Mom, you're going to be fine," Buffy said.

"No listen to me. No matter what it is that makes me different, she is my daughter and I made a vow to give her a better life. I have to know that you'll take care of her, keep her safe. That you'll love her in the way that I love you," Joyce said placing her hand gently on Faith's back and staring into her eldest's eyes.

"I promise," Buffy said biting her lip to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Come here," Joyce said scooting over on the bed to make room for her daughters. Buffy stood and gently lifted Faith with her onto the bed situating the toddler in between herself and her mother. Joyce wrapped her arm around the two of them and cupping her eldest daughter's face with her hand.

"Oh, my sweet brave Buffy. What would I do without you?" Joyce asked her voice thick with tears.

"Probably be living it up on a cruise boat in the Caribbean with some hot young stud," Buffy laughed her own tears mixing in with her mother's as the two of them laughed. Their laughter woke the toddler who was lying in between them and she rubbed her eyes and looked between them groggily her face screwed up in confusion.

"What's so funny?" she asked her voice husky with sleep.

"Nothing honey Buffy was just being silly, did you have a nice nap?" Joyce asked brushing some hair away from Faith's forehead.

"Yep it was a good nap. Mama you sound lots better maybe you don't need to have a oparation anymore," Faith said.

"Sweetheart I wish it was that simple but they have to take the tumour out or I will never be one hundred percent," Joyce said.

"I wish you didn't have to," Faith said quietly and Buffy had to turn away so the young girl wouldn't see the tears that had started to fall.

"I wish I didn't have to either, but if I'm going to get better then I have to do this," Joyce said.

"Are you going to be okay?" Faith asked sitting up.

"I'm going to be fine, but if something doesn't go right I need you to promise me you'll be a good girl for Buffy, she's going to need you to help her out so you will have to look after her okay, can you promise me that?" Joyce asked stroking the backs of her fingers down Faith's cheek. Buffy had to turn her head and bite the pillow to muffle the sob that she felt building at the back of her throat.

"I'm always a good girl," Faith said and her mother laughed, "I can look after B."

"That's my girl," Joyce said pulling Faith tightly to her and wrapping one arm around her and placing the other on Buffy's back. Buffy turned so that her face was buried in Faith's back and hugged her arms around the two of them as Joyce stroked her hands through her daughter's hair.

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"I love you Mama," Faith said leaning forward in Buffy's arms and giving her mother a kiss.

"I love you too sweetheart," Joyce said holding Faith's small hand in her own.

"I love you Mom," Buffy said leaning down and giving Joyce a kiss.

"And I love you, I'll see you two soon okay," Joyce said letting Faith's hand drop as the doctors wheeled her through the swinging doors and away from them.

"How long do we gotta wait now?" Faith asked as Buffy walked the two of them back over to Xander, Anya, Giles, Willow and Tara all who had shown up to support them.

"A couple of hours, a couple of long long hours," Buffy sighed.


	11. Chapter 11

"B I'm bored," Faith whined as she came to stand in front of her sister.

"What?" Buffy asked lifting her head from her hands.

"I'm bored can we take Mama home now?" Faith asked tugging on Buffy's hands.

"Faith you know we have to wait until they've finished with the operation just, I don't know play with your toys or something," Buffy said her own weariness and worry about her mother causing her patience to run thin.

"But I played with them all already and I'm bored," Faith whined pulling on the bottom of her shirt. Buffy reached forward absently and pulled Faith's hands away from her shirt so it didn't stretch.

"I'm sorry Faithy but you're just gonna have to wait a bit longer until we know Mom's okay," Buffy sighed running a hand through her hair.

Watching from across the hospital waiting room Xander showed his watch to Willow as she asked what the time was once again. He could see the frustration rolling off the blonde Slayer in waves and he could tell it wasn't directly related to the small girl jumping up and down restlessly in front of her but she definitely wasn't helping. And it wasn't the toddler's fault either; it wasn't natural for the kid to sit still for as long as she had been pretty well behaved so far. He got up out of his chair and walked across the room and plopped himself down next to Buffy.

"How're you holding up?" he asked the blonde.

"It's taking a long time," Buffy said to him as Faith pulled on her arm again.

"I'd take it as a good sign if it was over quickly then it means they couldn't do anything," Xander said.

"You think?" Buffy said pulling her hand back and shooting Faith a glare as the young girl tried to pull her ring off.

"Call it Xander intuition," he said smiling, "hey you want me to take her off your hands for awhile, keep her busy," he said indicating Faith who was now going through the contents of Buffy's purse.

"Please," Buffy said gratefully as Xander swung Faith up onto his back the young girl giggling as she held on tight around his neck.

"I'll try to tire her out," Xander said leaning down and kissing Buffy on the forehead, "try not to worry," he said before carrying Faith off down the hall.

It felt like days but it had only been three hours, three excruciatingly long hours where every tick of the clock sounded like the beeping off a heartbeat monitor and every silence in-between made her chest constrict with fear that something terrible had happened. Buffy wasn't sure if she believed in God but at that moment she prayed to whoever it was up there that her mother would be alright. If she wasn't the blonde would be faced with the prospect of raising Faith on her own and as much as she loved her sister it was something she couldn't fathom at that moment.

"Are you hanging in there" Willow asked her friend as she and Tara came to sit next to her.

"It's bad thoughts a plus in Buffy's head tonight," Buffy told her.

"Y-you have to stay positive," Tara said placing a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder.

"I know, but I just keep thinking that something has gone wrong and then that leads to bad thoughts about me not being able to cope without Mom and well you get the drift," Buffy said.

"She's going to be fine a-and if she's not which she will be you won't be alone," Willow said trying to reassure her friend.

Buffy tried to respond with a smile but she knew it would come off fake as it was she was trying hard not to cry her friend's words about being alone hitting her like a kick to the stomach.

"I just can't stand all this waiting," Buffy said standing up and running her hands through her hair, obviously frustrated.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer," Giles came to stand next to his Slayer his hand placed supportively on her back.

"I just wish they would tell us something," Buffy sighed as she flopped back into her chair and leaning her head back against the wall.

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The warm weight that was deposited on her lap made Buffy open her eyes from the daydream she had been concentrating on to stop herself from worrying.

"One worn out toddler madam," Xander smirked as he stood in front of her after depositing a weary looking Faith on her lap. The young girl's face was flushed and she was brushing sweaty strands of hair out of her face.

"We played on the playground outside and then Xander bet me five bucks that I couldn't run around it a hundred times," Faith said proudly holding her prize out for her sister to see.

"One hundred times," Buffy looked at her friend incredulously.

"What. I said I would tire her out so she wasn't all bouncy," Xander said holding his hands up in defence.

"Yes well a hundred laps of the playground may have been a bit excessive," Giles said handing Faith a cup of water he had gotten from the nurses' station.

"S'ok Grandpa Giles I got money," Faith said showing him the five dollar bill she held out.

"I suppose that makes up for it some," Giles smiled at the young girl.

"Don't go telling Anya I gave you money she will never let me hear the end of it," Xander said flopping down onto the chair next to Willow.

"When Mama gets out of her oparation I'm gonna buy her a present with my money," Faith told Buffy as she settled back against her sister.

"I think she'll like that sweetheart," Buffy said stroking her hand through Faith's hair, "ew Faith your hair is all sweaty and gross," she screwed up her face and wiped her hand on Faith's shirt.

"It's not my fault, Xander betted me and you can't say no because then you look like a wuss," Faith said handing her empty cup back to Giles.

"Xander also fed you dinner and gave you money so let's not blame this all on him," Xander said throwing a look her way.

"Did you say thank you to Xander for getting you dinner?" Buffy asked her sister.

"Ahuh and then the lady working got angry at him because he was making silly faces with the straws," Faith giggled and Xander blushed.

"Thanks Xand," Buffy said gratefully. She had forgotten that it was past dinner time, her worry for her mother keeping her usually large appetite in check.

"B is Mama's oparation nearly finished?" Faith asked as Buffy stroked her hair again.

"Soon baby," Buffy said telling herself as much as Faith that this was true. It was like magic because as soon as the words left her mouth she spotted Dr. Kriegel entering through the double doors at the end of the hall. Standing with Faith resting on her hip she walked quickly and met him halfway with the others trailing along behind her.

"Okay your mother is in recovery," Dr. Kriegel said.

"What happened? I mean it took way longer than you said it would, is she okay?" Buffy asked.

"It was possible to visualize the tumor completely, which means I was able to get all of it. So, barring complications in recovery I think your mother's going to be fine. Of course we're still going to have to watch your mother carefully, and, uh, have her back in here for some follow-up testing, but, uh, overall I'd consider the procedure a complete success," Dr. Kriegel said earning him a huge smile from Buffy who then proceeded to give Faith a kiss and swing her around in the air.

"Thank you so much doctor you have no idea, thank you so so so much," Buffy said throwing her free arm around him and giving him a hug that had much more strength in it than a normal arm should have causing the doctor to give out a pained yelp.

"It's my pleasure," he wheezed placing a hand on his back.

"Did you make my Mama all better?" Faith asked him, looking around at all the smiling faces around her she thought it was good news but obviously hadn't quite understood what the doctor had said.

"Yes Faith your mother's surgery was quite successful," Dr. Kriegel said smiling and ruffling the young girl's hair. She scowled at him as she smoothed the messy curls back down and turned to whisper in Buffy's ear, "Yeah but is she gonna be okay B?"

"Yeah Faithy she's gonna be okay," Buffy said smiling happily.

"Can we see her pleaaase," Faith begged looking between the doctor and her sister.

"Your mother will be asleep for awhile but once the nurses have her situated you can go in and sit with her, I will get them to inform you when she is ready," Dr. Kriegel said.

"Okay, thanks again doctor so much," Buffy said shaking his hand warmly.

"Buffy that's wonderful news," Giles smiled at the two Summers girls placing a warm hand on both their shoulders.

"Yeah Buffy it's fantastic," Willow said giving her friend a hug.

Buffy couldn't stop a few happy tears that fell from her eyes and couldn't wipe the smile off of her face. All the worrying over the last couple of hours had been for nothing, her mother was alright, she wasn't going to be alone after all.

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The gang had left soon after they had found out the good news leaving only Buffy and Faith in the waiting room. It was long past Faith's bed time and it was beginning to show, the toddler was irritable and wasn't afraid of showing it despite Buffy pleading with her to keep it down.

"Just watch the TV over there Faithy we can't go in yet they have to make sure she's okay before we can go in," Buffy tried to quiet the toddler who had been whining loudly.

"But the doctor already sayed she was okay and I wanna see her now," Faith complained biting her lip to stop tears of frustration escaping her eyes.

"Baby I know you're tired it's been a long day of waiting but you just have to hang on a little longer and then we can go and see her okay," Buffy wiped away the stray tears that had fallen.

"I'm not tired," Faith said angrily hopping off Buffy's lap and going to lie in front of the small television that was set up in the corner of the waiting room. Buffy sighed, it had been a long and emotional day she herself was tired and couldn't wait to get home. She didn't feel as bad leaving her mother now that she knew she was going to be alright. The strain of the last couple of days began to take its toll and Buffy found herself struggling to stay awake; trying to make sure she kept an eye on Faith at the same time as dragging her eyes open every time they sunk closed.

"Miss Summers," she jumped at the kind voice of a nurse who had come to inform her they could go and see their mother, "you can go in and see her now. She'll probably be a bit groggy from the anaesthetic so you won't be able to stay too long. I can take you there now," the nurse smiled kindly at her as she got up from her chair.

"Okay thanks I just have to grab my sister and then we can go, is she, I mean will Faith be scared when she sees her?" Buffy asked.

"She's hooked up to a lot of machines and she has a bandage on her head but all those things are making sure she gets better so if you explain it that way it won't be as scary," the nurse said.

"Doesn't matter anyway," Buffy said absently as she bent to pick Faith from the floor who had passed out from exhaustion her thumb stuck firmly in her mouth. Once she had the toddler settled on her hip she nodded to the nurse that she was ready and followed her down the corridor towards the Intensive Care Unit.

"Here you go," the nurse said as they stopped in front of a glass double door with large red letters reading ICU, "you can only stay for about ten minutes but hopefully tomorrow she will be moved back into a normal room and you can stay longer."

"Okay thank you," Buffy said smiling gratefully at the nurse as she held the door open.

Joyce wasn't the only person in this ICU wing, there were four other beds in the room each holding someone who was hooked up to numerous monitors and tubes making Buffy glad that Faith wasn't awake to see because it was definitely not a comforting picture. Her mother was in the bed at the very far side of the room and was blocked by a blue curtain that hung around the bed next to hers so Buffy paused to take a calming breath before walking to where Joyce lay. She was pale and her head was encased in a large white bandage almost looking like she had a towel on her head. Numerous wires and tubes were flowing from under her hospital gown and Buffy had to remind herself of the nurses' earlier words about them all helping Joyce to get better and not take them as a bad sign.

There were two armchairs that were positioned next to Joyce's bed and Buffy carefully situated Faith in one before sitting in the other and pulling it closer so she could take her mother's hand. Joyce's hand was limp in her own but the warmth that radiated from her skin reaffirmed in Buffy's mind that everything was going to turn out alright. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt Joyce weakly squeezing her hand and had to stop herself from throwing her arms around her mother and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Buffy," Joyce said quietly her voice raspy from the tube that had been in her throat during the operation.

"Hey," Buffy said smiling, "you're looking good lady," she teased.

"How did I go?" Joyce asked her.

"You were a superstar, Dr. Kriegel said that they were able to get all the tumour out," Buffy told her mother.

"Knew you wouldn't be able to get rid of me that easily," Joyce smiled as the drugs she was on began to take effect and her eyes drifted shut.

"See you tomorrow," Buffy said quietly leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on her mother's cheek.

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Buffy awoke the next morning to a hard poke to the middle of her forehead. She groaned as she looked at the clock and saw she had only gotten four hours sleep the night before. She looked around blearily looking for the source and saw Faith standing next to her bed with her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face. Buffy nearly laughed at the young girl's expression but from the way Faith was standing that probably would have only made the toddler more annoyed.

"What's the matter Faithy?" she asked as she sat up further in bed rubbing a hand over her eyes and through her hair.

"I'm angry at you," Faith stated her eyebrows crinkling as she frowned at her sister.

"Why? What did I do?" Buffy asked thoroughly confused. Faith had slept the entire way home and hadn't even woken when Buffy had changed her into her pyjamas and put her to bed, she couldn't have possibly done anything in that time to upset her.

"You didn't let me see Mama last night," Faith glared at her.

"You fell asleep that wasn't my fault," Buffy said getting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom the toddler trailing along behind her.

"I wanted to see her as well you should have woked me up," Faith said stopping in the doorway to the bathroom as Buffy washed her face.

"You were really tired," Buffy stated drying her face off with a towel.

"No I wasn't," Faith stomped her foot and Buffy could tell that the beginnings of a tantrum were unfolding. Deciding it wasn't worth the fight this morning she scooped the young girl up on the way past and carried her back towards Faith's bedroom.

"Alright I'm sorry baby I should have woken you up but how about on the way to the hospital we stop off and get chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?" Buffy said smiling when the mention of food immediately caused Faith's frown to fly off her face and be replaced by excited eyes.

"Too easy," she smirked as Faith jumped out of her arms and raced towards her closet to get changed.

Twenty minutes later she was watching Faith finish her fifth pancake with chocolate chips all over her face.

"Enjoying those?" she asked.

"They're yummy," Faith nodded, "B we should take some so Mama can have them," Faith said.

"She would have already had her breakfast by the time we get there, but maybe another time," Buffy said and Faith pouted.

"Come on let's go pay the bill and then we can go and see Mom," Buffy said wiping off Faith's face and hands.

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"Mama," Faith yelled excitedly as she ran into the hospital room to see Joyce sitting up in bed, the tubes from yesterday removed. Buffy caught the toddler before she had a chance to jump up onto the bed and Faith scowled at her before slowing down and walking the rest of the way to the side of the bed.

"Hi honey," Joyce said smiling at her daughter. Faith frowned for a second and then raced back over to where Buffy was still standing in the doorway content to let the two have their moment. The toddler pulled on Buffy's hand so the blonde Slayer lent down to Faith's level.

"B I wanna give Mama a hug but is it gonna hurt her?" she whispered into Buffy's ear.

"Not if you be gentle," Buffy said back.

"You gotta help me 'cause I can't reach," Faith grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her over to the bed.

"At your service m'lady," Buffy smirked, lifting Faith and depositing her gently onto the bed.

"I'm glad you're head is better Mama," Faith said giving her mother a hug which Joyce returned placing a kiss on the top of Faith's head.

"I am too sweetheart and very happy to see you two this morning. What have you been up to? Have you been behaving for Buffy?" Joyce asked her.

"Uhuh I've been real good and B took me out to get chocolate chip pancakes this morning," Faith told her.

"Wow your favourite you are a lucky girl, I'm jealous all I had was oatmeal," Joyce pulled a face.

"That's why I bought you one," Faith said triumphantly pulling an extremely squashed pancake out of her front pocket. It looked more like a ball of mush as the toddler had pushed it in quickly so Buffy hadn't seen it and crumbs went all over the bed and her clothes as she pulled it out.

"Faith! I told you not to take one," Buffy admonished as she scooped the toddler off the bed and onto the floor bringing most of the crumbs with her.

"I know but it was so yummy I wanted Mama to have some of them," Faith said still holding the remnants of the pancake in her hand.

"Faith, honey while it was a sweet gesture when Buffy tells you to do something you have to do what she says," Joyce said.

"Sometimes B isn't always right," Faith pouted scowling at her sister.

"Maybe not but she was in charge of you and she's only doing what she thought was best so you have to listen okay," Joyce explained.

"Fine," Faith said, "So do you want the pancake?" she asked holding the squished mound of dough out to her mother.

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Some hours later Faith looked up from the floor where she had been sitting colouring in to find both her mother and sister fast asleep, Joyce from a mixture of the pain medication she was on and Buffy from her lack of sleep over the past couple of days. The toddler remembered that she hadn't used the money she had won from Xander to buy her mother a present and pulled it from her back pocket where she had placed it for safe keeping. Deciding that she would go to the gift shop and back quickly she got off the floor and headed out the door trying to close it as quietly as she could.

The sound of the door closing woke Buffy and she looked up expecting to find a nurse who had been coming in every hour to check her mother's vitals. Not seeing a nurse she looked to her mother who was still resting peacefully, her brow furrowing in confusion. Looking around she noticed Faith's colouring in pencils and book strewn across the floor and her eyes widened when she realised that the young girl wasn't in the room. Her heart raced and she had horrible flashbacks to when Faith had been taken by the Initiative. In her hurry to get out of her chair she knocked it over the noise of it hitting the floor waking her mother. Joyce who noticed the panicked expression on her daughters face placed a hand on her arm.

"Buffy honey, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Faith's missing."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Okay I know it's been FOREVER since I updated this story but I lost the motivation for it but it's back and after rereading what I've already written I'm ready to continue, hope I didn't loose too many readers in my hiatus. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

After convincing her mother to stay in her hospital bed, Buffy raced out of the room nearly crashing straight into Ben who had been about to enter.

"Woah where's the fire?" he asked throwing his arms out to keep them both from falling.

"Faith's the fire, she's missing," Buffy rushed, "You haven't seen her anywhere have you?"

"No sorry, but I can put a page through to every medical personnel on the floor to be on the lookout for her and I can help you look," he said.

"Are you sure you don't have important doctory stuff you should be doing?" Buffy asked.

"If they need a bed pan changed I'm sure they'll call me," Ben said smiling as he typed into his pager, "How about I check all the places you won't be able to get into because you don't work here and you start checking places that are open to the general public.

"Okay, okay, thanks Ben really I really appreciate it," she said.

"It's no problem really," he said kindly.

In her panic of knowing that Glory was out there searching for her key, a key which happened to be Faith, Buffy completely forgot that their connection as Slayer's basically came with their own personal GPS for one another. It took a frantic search of the cafeteria and the maternity ward for her to remember the comforting hum at the base of her spine that let her know that Faith was still in the vicinity. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes where she was standing in the middle of the maternity ward waiting room and concentrated on the humming in her spine, she opened her eyes and let it guide her eventually increasing in strength until it was a constant warm buzz when she was standing outside the hospital gift shop.

She hurried in and almost cried in relief when she saw her sister talking to a brunette gift shop employee and not a curly haired blonde woman. Faith was sitting up on the counter and was sucking on a lollipop the woman had given her and was chatting away completely oblivious to her sister who had an expression of intense relief and annoyance on her face.

"Faith," Buffy said going up to them and pulling the toddler against her in a bone crushing hug.

"Hey B," Faith said when Buffy pulled back.

"So you're B," the gift shop woman smiled, "I've been hearing a lot about you."

"Faith what were you doing running off like that? Mom and I were so worried about you we thought someone had taken you," Buffy said.

"I just wanted to get Mama a present with my prize," Faith pouted showing Buffy the money she had won from Xander earlier.

"Baby I would have taken you, you just had to ask me. You know you're not allowed to go off on your own, Mom is worried sick," Buffy said.

"Did I make her cancer come back?" Faith asked her lower lip trembling.

"No, of course not," Buffy said cupping Faith's cheek with her hand, "It's just an expression it just means she was really worried because she didn't know where you were."

"I came to get Mama a present but then I didn't have enough money and then Amy," Faith said pointing to the gift shop lady, "She sayed she would take me back up to Mama's room but then I couldn't 'member where it was so she said she would find it and then gave me a lollipop because I was being a good girl."

"I asked her what her mother's name was and she said Mama," Amy smiled, "And then she said her sister's name was B so it didn't really give me all that much to go on."

"I'm Buffy," the blonde Slayer smiled, "And thanks for finding her."

"It's no problem, she's a hoot and a half," Amy said tickling Faith's stomach.

"Well come on missy I know one mother who is desperate to find out that you're okay," Buffy said lifting Faith off the counter and resting her on her hip, "Say thank you to Amy for looking after you."

"Thanks," Faith said her hand that was around Buffy's neck giving the brunette woman a shy wave.

"Oh Faith you almost forgot your gift," Amy said handing the toddler a stuffed horse.

"How much do we owe you?" Buffy asked.

"Forget about it," Amy said waving her hand.

"Thanks again," Buffy said adjusting Faith on her hip.

"We should find Ben," she said to her sister when they had left the gift shop, "He was helping me look for you."

"Is Ben your special friend?" Faith asked Buffy in all innocence.

"What! No Faith he's just a nice guy he's not my special friend," Buffy flushed.

"But you think he's very handsome don't you?" Faith asked.

"Just because I think he's handsome doesn't mean he's my special friend," Buffy said.

"I see we found our notorious runaway," Ben said from behind them.

"Ben! How much of that exactly did you hear?" Buffy asked her cheeks red.

"I may have heard mentions of a handsome young doctor named Ben," he winked.

"No, I'm sorry you must have misheard. I was talking about a hen who had a ransom," Buffy said and Faith's face screwed up in confusion.

"No you didn't B you said mmph," the toddler was cut off when Buffy slapped a hand over her mouth.

"She's just a little kids she doesn't know what she's saying," Buffy laughed nervously.

"I'm not little I'm a big girl," Faith pouted struggling to get out of Buffy's arms.

"Yeah you are kiddo," Ben said ruffling her hair, "And as a big girl can you do be a big favour?" continuing when she nodded, "You gotta stay put unless you've got an adult with you because otherwise people get scared and if Dr. Ben gets scared then I can't help save people and that would be bad wouldn't it?"

"Uh huh, I promise," Faith nodded solemnly.

"Thanks again kid whisperer," Buffy said.

"No problems. Give your mom my best I'll be in to check on her later," Ben said placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze before walking off.

"B, Mama's not gonna be mad at me is she?" Faith asked quietly as they got closer to their mother's room.

"I think she'll just be happy that she knows you're okay but Faithy you have to understand that what you did was bad you can't go running off like that because we love you very much and if something happened to you well, I don't know what we would do," Buffy said.

"I'm sorry," Faith said softly, "I-I just wanted to get Mama a get well present."

"I know and she's going to love it," Buffy said kissing her on the forehead when they reached Joyce's room, "Now why don't you go in there and tell her that you're sorry you ran off without telling us and then give her your present."

"Faith," Joyce's relief was evident as the frown lines that had previously shown on her forehead disappeared and the colour returned to her face.

"Hi Mama," Faith said her head bowed as the two of them came into the room, "I'm sorry I ranned away without telling you."

"I was so worried about you sweetheart, I thought someone had taken you," Joyce said sitting up further.

"I didn't mean to make you worried," Faith said, "I just wanted to get you a get well present and B and you were so sleepy so I didn't want to wake you up."

"Just as long as you don't do it again okay," Joyce said beckoning Faith forward.

The toddler looked up at Buffy briefly who smiled encouragingly at her and pushed her forward gently. Faith walked slowly so that she was standing next to her mother's bed her head still bent so she stared at her shoes. Shifting on the bed Joyce reached over and used her thumb to tilt Faith's chin up forcing the young girl to make eye contact with her.

"Honey, I'm just glad you're alright," Joyce said, "Now did I hear mention of a present?"

"Show Mom what you got her Faithy," Buffy urged.

"It's a horsey," Faith said handing her mother the stuffed horse, "B has Mr. Gordo and I have Mr. Darcy so I thought you would want a Mr. too."

"Aw sweetheart that's very sweet of you," Joyce said taking the stuffed horse from her youngest. Buffy could tell her mother longed to hold the toddler so moving swiftly to the side of the bed she lifted Faith up and plopped her gently at her mother's side on the bed. Smiling gratefully at Buffy Joyce put her arms around Faith and pulled her against her chest.

"I think I'll call him Mr. Ed," Joyce said.

"How original of you," Buffy smirked.

* * *

"Faith slow down," Buffy yelled as the toddler practically sprinted down the hospital hallway in front of her. The two of them were excited because they were taking their mother home today after her surgery.

"I wanna see Mama," Faith called back but she slowed her pace down so Buffy could catch up with her and took her hand.

"When we take Mom home we're going to have to be really helpful and let her get lots of rest so she can get better," Buffy said.

"I know you told me already," Faith said dramatically, "When do I get to give Mama my drawings?"

"When we get home so it'll be like a welcome home present," Buffy said holding the door open for Faith who pulled her hand free and skipped into the room.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes," Joyce said smiling warmly at them as they came in.

"Are those actually clothes? Faith are you seeing this?" Buffy asked scooping the toddler up as the two of them appraised Joyce's non-hospital gown outfit.

"You look very pretty Mama," Faith said.

"I didn't want to make my tumourless debut out into the world in a hospital gown," Joyce said finishing tying a blue scarf around her head and then reaching out her arms for her youngest covering her face with kisses when Buffy handed her over.

"Well it looks like someone is looking forward to going home," Dr. Kriegel said coming into the room a warm smile on his face.

"No offense to you Doctor but I can't wait to get out of here and be at home with my girls," Joyce said.

"Well I have a list of medication that you'll have to take and you'll need to get plenty of rest. You have a check-up scheduled for four days from now just to check out your wound but if you feel anything wrong I don't want you to hesitate in coming back in to get someone check you out," Dr. Kriegel said.

"Thanks again Doctor for everything you've done," Joyce said shifting Faith so she could shake the doctor's hand.

"You're more than welcome," he replied.

"Thanks for making my Mama better," Faith said, "I drawed you a picture to say thank you for making Mama all better," she said as Buffy handed him the picture the toddler had drawn.

"This is wonderful Faith I shall hang it up in my office and you are more than welcome you are a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful mother," Dr. Kriegel said.

"I know," Faith said happily resting her head against Joyce's shoulder.

"Thank you Dr. Kriegel, so much," Buffy said going to give him a hug which he cringed into thinking it would be another bone crushing hug like their previous embrace but she contained her strength and he gave her a quick squeeze.

"I'll see you girls in a couple of days and Joyce you have my number please don't hesitate to call if you feel anything outside of the symptoms we have discussed," he said before exiting the room.

"Well I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to my own bed," Joyce said

"Let's go then we can't wait to have you back home either," Buffy said hoisting her mother's overnight bag onto her shoulder.

"Mama when I get growed up I wanna be a doctor just like him so I can make other people's Mama's all better," Faith said to her mother.

"That's great sweetheart, you can be whatever you want to be," Joyce said and Buffy thought she detected a hint of sadness in her mother's voice. They both knew that Faith was destined to be a Slayer and that somewhat limited her career opportunities. She lagged behind slightly as she listened in to their conversation in which Faith was telling her mother a story about the pregnant woman who was outside the hospital who according to the toddler walked like a duck. Joyce was in the middle of explaining to the young girl about having a baby in your stomach when someone stepped into her line of sight. Looking up in shock her eyes widened and she dropped the bag she had been carrying.

"Riley?"

**A/N: Please review and let me know if you are still out there. Feed the starving author people she needs the motivation. **


	13. Chapter 13

Buffy was so shocked to see him there standing in front of her that she was momentarily lost for words. She had been so sure that he had perished when the Initiative had been destroyed and to see him now in front of her, perfectly unharmed, she was finding it hard to wrap her head around it. That was until the memories of what he'd done to Faith came flooding back and her fist moved as if it had a mind of its own hitting him square in the jaw.

"Take Faith and go and wait in the car," Buffy said, throwing the keys to her mother who was holding a now crying Faith, "If something happens, drive, I don't care what the doctors said about not driving just go."

Not sparing a glance to make sure that they had done as she said she reached down and pulled Riley to his feet and held him roughly by his collar and pushed him until his back was against the side of the building.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she growled her fingers tightening around his throat, not caring who could see.

"I uh," he gurgled not able to talk properly with her hand around his throat.

Noticing this she loosened her hand but still kept him pinned against the wall.

"Talk."

"I'm sorry for everything I did," he said and she growled shoving him harder against the wall.

"Don't you ever apologise to me, what you did to her is inexcusable, she's just a child Riley, how could you do that?" she asked.

"The drugs the Professor put me on, they messed with my head, you gotta believe me Buffy I would never do anything to hurt you or her if I had the chance, please Buffy," he pleaded.

"I don't want to hear it," Buffy said her eyes shining fiercely with the anger she felt coursing through her veins, "You took her and locked her in a cage, you abused the trust she had in you even when you knew how fragile she is, you were going to hand her over to people who wanted to hurt her, tell me Riley, tell me why I should accept any apology you give me."

"Because I love you," he mumbled.

"You love me," Buffy said incredulously, "You have the nerve after kidnapping my sister to come here and tell me that you love me."

"All that stuff I did, none of that was me, it was because of what they did to me, I would never have done anything to hurt you or Faith, I love you," he said again.

"Just, stop staying that, I don't care what spell you were under, or what drugs you were on, you hurt her and I-I can't forgive that so you need to leave or I will make you leave," she said her voice steely.

"Can I-I, I mean will you let me say sorry to Faith?" Riley asked gasping when Buffy's grip around his throat tightened.

"If you ever come near her again I will kill you," Buffy said her voice dangerously low, "Leave here, leave Sunnydale, I don't want to ever see you ever again."

She released her hand from around his throat and he gave her a forlorn look before walking away.

"I'm sorry," he said over his shoulder before walking away with his shoulders slumped in defeat.

She fought the urge to run after him, to beat him to a pulp for all he had put her family through but she knew her mother and Faith were watching and she wouldn't subject the toddler to seeing that. Running a hand through her hair Buffy made sure that he wasn't still hanging around and then headed back over to the car. Joyce was in the backseat with a still crying Faith sitting on her lap, the toddler was clinging to her mother's shirt and Buffy's heart broke to see her so upset.

"It's okay honey he's not going to take you away," Joyce murmured rubbing Faith's back and looking over at Buffy when she opened the side door.

"He's gone," Buffy said, "And he's not coming back."

"I don't wanna go back there, I don't wanna go, don't make me go," Faith sobbed.

"No one's taking you away baby I promise," Buffy said, "I wouldn't let them."

"I don't wanna go," Faith cried as Joyce handed Buffy the keys.

"You're not going anywhere sweetheart," Joyce said as Buffy hopped into the drivers seat.

"Except home," Buffy said turning out of the hospital parking lot, "I'm taking the both of you home."

* * *

"Okay pyjama ladies we have a whole selection of movies we can watch," Buffy said coming into the living room where Joyce and Faith were snuggled up together on the couch. It was only midday but the blonde had insisted that they all change into their pyjamas and spend the rest of the day lounging around. It would serve two purposes, it would allow Joyce to get the rest she would need to start recovering from her surgery and it would allow Faith, who had been clinging to the both of them ever since they had seen Riley that morning, the chance to be close to them.

"I wanna watch the movie with the green man," Faith said as she snuggled up between Buffy and Joyce.

"The Grinch again, baby I think maybe we should let Mom pick the movie," Buffy said.

"B doesn't like the movie with the green man, she gets ascared from his fingers," Faith told her mother.

"They're too long," Buffy complained.

"Well we wouldn't want to scare Buffy now would we," Joyce said pulling Faith up onto her lap, "Maybe we should give the green man movie a miss for today."

"Mama and me give up a lot for you ya know," Faith pouted at Buffy.

The blonde Slayer and her mother snorted which only served to annoy the toddler more and she wriggled to get off Joyce's lap. She only moved so that she was sitting back in between them as she was still feeling the need to be close to them both.

"Will you forgive me if we watch Scooby Doo again?" Buffy asked nearly groaning when Faith nodded excitedly. The two of them had watched the movie numerous times over the past couple of days and the blonde was nearly sure that she could recite it all by now.

"You're gonna like this movie Mama it's real funny," Faith said to her mother.

"The exploits of the really big cartoon dog have pretty much been on repeat at the Summers house these last few days," Buffy told Joyce.

The three of them sat close together on the couch with Faith eventually climbing back up onto her mother's lap and Buffy curled up on her side. She didn't know when she had ever felt so grateful just to have her mother near her, to know that she was okay. Joyce had just started to doze off a mixture of the pain medication she was on and the recovery from surgery getting the better of her but she jerked awake when Faith's voice penetrated the room.

"Mama can we get a Scooby dog?" Faith asked turning in Joyce's lap so she could face her mother.

"Faithy I told you to wait until Mom was better before you asked," Buffy said.

"But she is better she already had her oparation," Faith said.

"Well you gotta give her some time to recover first," Buffy said.

"I did so give her time to recover we're not at the hospital anymore," Faith said putting her hands on her hips.

"Girls please," Joyce admonished, "Mom is not at her best still so can you please stop the fighting."

"Sorry Mama," Faith said.

"Sorry Mom," Buffy said, "Does your head hurt?"

"Just enough to let me know it's still there," Joyce grimaced.

"Guess that is to be expected you do have a hole in your head," Buffy smirked.

"Mama you got a hole in your head! Isn't your brain gonna fall out?" Faith asked her eyes wide with shock.

"No honey," Joyce chuckled, "They sewed the hole shut, my brain will definitely be staying where it is."

"Good," Faith nodded, "I like your brain where it is."

"I do too," Joyce said running her hand gently over Faith's head, "And on that note I think I'm going to go and lie down for awhile."

"Me too," Faith said jumping off Joyce's lap and heading to the stairs.

"Oh no you don't," Buffy said snagging her around the waist, "Mom needs to rest and I don't foresee that happening if you go up there with her."

"I'm not going be bouncing I promise, I just wanna read Mama a story," Faith said.

Buffy resisted the urge to point out that the toddler couldn't read and let her go knowing it would only start a fight.

"Fine, but I am coming to get you in five minutes," Buffy said to her sister, "Call me if she starts annoying you," she said to her mother.

"She could never annoy me," Joyce said, "Don't worry," she said to Buffy.

"Five minutes," the Slayer called back racing to get the phone that had started to ring as Joyce and Faith headed to the stairs.

"Buffy?" Giles' voice sounded from the other end of the line, "How is your mother?"

"She's fine, a bit sore but apart from that she's okay," Buffy said.

"Good, that's very good news," Giles replied.

"Riley was at the hospital," Buffy told him.

"Wha-how?' Giles spluttered.

"Right there with you, I thought after the explosion that he had, well you know, but he came to tell me that he was sorry and that he would never have done it if it hadn't been for the drugs that Professor gave him," she said deliberating leaving out the part where Riley had told her he was still in love with her.

"That's no excuse, she is only a child, she should have never have been treated in such a way," Giles explodes and Buffy has to hold the phone away from her ear.

"That's why I told him to leave," she said, "I told him if he ever came near us again that I would kill him."

"Do you think he got the message?" Giles asked.

"For his sake I hope he did," she said.

"Well the reason I called is that Willow and I seem to have uncovered some rather vital information about the Key," Giles said and Buffy could feel her heart pick up.

"What did you find?" she asked her throat tightening.

"I'd prefer if you came over that way we can assemble the group and go over it together," Giles replied, "Do you think you could make it over today?"

"Mom's just gone upstairs for a nap and I'd rather stay here in case she needs me so maybe you and the gang can bring the meeting here," Buffy said.

"Yes, of course, sorry Buffy I should have thought of that myself," Giles said, "When would you like us to come over?"

"Well I'll see if Faith will go down for a nap I'd prefer if she didn't hear any of this so give me half an hour," Buffy said.

"Of course, I shall call the group and tell them to meet at your house," Giles said.

"See you soon," Buffy said hanging up.

Faith was still telling Joyce her story when Buffy went upstairs to get her. From what she could gather it involved a talking horse and a ninja named Faith.

"Come on Charles Dickens it's time to let Mom get some rest," she said coming further into the room, Joyce giving her a grateful look.

"But B I'm just getting to a good part," Faith whined.

"You can finish your story later sweetheart I promise," Joyce said giving her youngest a kiss on the cheek, "Maybe Buffy would like to hear it," she said winking at her eldest daughter.

"Okay," Faith sighed, "I hope the hole in your head feels better Mama."

"Thank you baby," Joyce chuckled.

"You call me if you need anything," Buffy said to her mother.

"Promise," Joyce said as Buffy kissed her on the cheek and lifted Faith up off the bed and rested her on her hip.

"So baby do you want to lie down for awhile?" Buffy asked knowing that it was probably wishful thinking.

"Nope," Faith shook her head, "I don't gotta hole in my head so I'm not sleepy at all."

"Well do you think if I went and lay down that you would lie with me?" Buffy asked.

"Could we lie on your big girl's bed?" Faith asked cocking her head to the side.

"Yep, and I might even tell you a story," Buffy said walking them towards her room.

"Can you tell me one of your stories about being a superhero?" Faith asked as Buffy plopped her down on the bed.

"Okay, but don't tell Mom," Buffy said settling herself on the bed and wrapping her arm around Faith's shoulders.

"Tell me one where Angel and Cordy are in it," Faith said as Buffy stroked her fingers through the young girl's dark hair.

"Alright well one night we were in the library where Grandpa Giles used to work and where Cordy and I went to school. Willow and Xander were there as well and we were fighting this big monster that came up through the ground..."


	14. Chapter 14

"So what have you found?" Buffy asked, not even saving time for pleasantries when she greeted Giles at the door.

"Well hello to you too," Anya said pushing past the older man and giving Buffy a disdainful look, "You know Xander and I have much better plans than to keep coming over here whenever you call. We had an afternoon of chocolate syrup and many orgasm plans and if it wasn't for you Xander would be eating marshmallows off of me as we speak."

"Yes thank you Anya for reminding us all once again how much we don't wish to hear about your activities with Xander and how saving the world is keeping you from them," Giles said as the rest of the Scoobies moved into the house.

He hung back while the others moved into the living room and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"How's your mother?" he asked the kindness in his eyes nearly making her cry. With everything that had been going on she had gotten used to looking after everyone and not being looked after herself.

"She's better, she's resting but I think she's just glad to be home," Buffy said leaning into the quick hug he gave her.

"As I'm sure yourself and Faith are glad to have her home," Giles said.

"I practically had to pry Faith's hands off of Mom she's so happy to have her back," Buffy said as the two of them joined the others in the living room.

"Well we're all happy to have her back," Xander said smiling warmly as the others nodded, "This house just wasn't the same without her here."

"Thanks again you guys for being so supportive throughout this whole thing," Buffy said, "I don't know how I would've made it through if you hadn't been there."

"It's the packaged deal when you signed on to be friends with us," Willow smirked, "Unfortunately being there for each other in the tough times is apparently something friendship is all about."

"Well I appreciate it hugely, seriously no amount of caramel macchiatos will ever make up for how much I appreciate it," Buffy said sitting down on the arm of the couch.

"We're just happy she's okay," Tara said softly.

"Now I know you are all aware why we have gathered here today," Giles said looking around as they all nodded, "We have finally uncovered some more information about the Key and its origins."

"It wasn't easy either, Giles had to promise to send the box set of Smallville to his contact in Versailles because he doesn't get cable and wouldn't give us the information until we promised," Willow smirked.

"Yes apparently Untrect demons have an affinity for Superman," Giles said shaking his head, "After I promised he was more than willing to share the information he had uncovered. It turns out the order the monks originated from is just outside the town he lives and he was able to get in under the cover of night and get a glimpse of the records they kept."

"The scrolls he found had been written in some sort of code, probably to stop Glory if she ever found them from deciphering what they contained," Willow said.

"Lucky for us Willow seems to have quite the knack for deciphering code and she was able to figure out what it said," Giles said smiling proudly at the redheaded witch.

"It's really quite fascinating, they wrote it in a mixture of binary code and an ancient Sumerian dialect that had already died out by the time the scrolls were even written. They were using binary before it was even really supposed to have been developed," the redheaded witch said excitedly.

"Massive two thumbs up for you Will on the cracking of the code," Xander said.

"Yes well done Willow but shouldn't you be telling us what it said instead of saying how wonderful you are?" Anya asked impatiently.

They had all by now learnt not to take what Anya said to heart so the redheaded witch just smiled at her and found the veiled compliment in what she had said. Buffy, who was still perched on the arm of the couch, tried to stop herself from fidgeting. She too was itching to find out what they had learnt but didn't want to take away from her friend's success in deciphering the ancient text.

"Yes well it turns out that Glory has been stuck in this dimension for over a thousand years. This Key was at one stage a ball of energy that the monks were in charge protecting. Once they became aware that Glory or the Beast as they refer to her was in this dimension they decided it was necessary to give the Key form to better hide it from her," Giles said.

"So Faith is really over a thousand years old," Xander said his eyes widening.

"Faith herself isn't that old, but the energy of the Key which is now inside of her is," Willow told them.

"The first person they put the Key's energy into was a Seer. This Seer received some particularly violent visions which eventually became too much for her and she ended her own life. This particular Seer happened to be the Watcher of a Slayer and when the Slayer found out she had killed herself she went to great and dangerous lengths to resurrect her. The resurrection was successful and the monks realised how important this woman was to the Slayer, a warrior whom they deemed strong enough to protect the Key so the Key was transferred to her," Giles said.

"The monks thought they had gotten rid of Glory once and for all once the date passed for her to be able to use the Key and cross through dimensions back into her own so they returned the Key to its original form and kept it back at the monastery," Willow said.

"On her deathbed the Seer who had originally had the Key inputted into her received a vision about far far in the future, about a time when two Slayers would be called, one dark and one light. She foresaw Glory rising again to have another chance to escape this world back to her own and the utter devastation this would cause. She saw the two Slayers conflicted and this ultimately would lead to their destruction. Due to their confliction the Key, once again in Faith was used to open the portal killing her and then blurring the lines between worlds letting demons run free across the world," Giles said.

"The Monks couldn't let this happen, they were the keepers of the Key and in charge of keeping it away from the Beast so they basically chanted like they'd never done before and rewrote history," Willow said.

"Rewrote history, what do you mean rewrote history?" Buffy asked.

"Everything that has happened to you and Faith, they made it so," Willow told her.

"They set everything in motion, Faith's unhappy childhood, her killing Alan Finch and turning to the Mayor, the Council offering her the chance to change back into her child self something she agreed to because of her childhood and those she had killed and the Council trying to kidnap her all so they would be sure that you Buffy would be inclined to want to protect her even more so," Giles said.

"They put her through all of that, that abuse just to make sure I'd want to protect her," Buffy said standing suddenly from the couch, "They made her suffer, forced her to feel so alone because they wanted me to protect her. All those things her Mom did to her," Buffy trailed off feeling such sadness for the young girl that rested upstairs, "All the things I said to her."

Even though she knew four year old Faith didn't remember what had gone down when she had been a teenager she was still felt sick that someone would make it so another human being had to suffer the way she had.

"You don't know it was the monks that wrote the way your relationship would go the first time around. The Seer's vision said the two of you were conflicted so it may have been that either way you would have had troubles getting along," Giles said.

"I am just so sick of people playing with my life," Buffy sighed running a hand through her hair, "I mean who knows what would have happened if Faith hadn't agreed to be turned back into her four year old self. Do they think I would have been so willing to save her if she was still murder happy Faith? I know she was hurting and I know we all played a part in that but what if we hadn't? What if she had had a happy life? We don't know, without their interference she could have been happy the first time around. Maybe we wouldn't have gotten along but she might have been happy."

"I know this is hard to hear but there is no point in torturing yourself with what ifs," Giles said moving to stand closer to his Slayer, "The only thing we can do now is protect Faith and do all that we can to prevent Glory from opening that portal."

The others in the room seemed stunned at the extent the monks had gone to in order to ensure the Slayer would protect the Key. That is except for Willow and Tara who had been helping with the research. Buffy could hardly believe how her life had been moulded to their will, she would protect Faith with her life there was no debating that but what did it say about her as a person that it took the other girl to fall to such a low before the monks thought she would care enough to save her.

She was pulled from her thoughts when a small voice called her name and they looked to see Faith standing at the foot of the stairs, rubbing her eyes with Mr. Gordo clutched in her hand.

"Baby I thought you were having a nap," Buffy said motioning for the toddler to come over to where she sat on the arm of the couch.

"I woked up," the toddler said simply as Buffy lifted her up and onto her lap, "I had a bad dream."

"What was it about?" Giles asked obviously interested to see if it was connected to what they had been previously discussing.

"I dunno," Faith said suddenly shy when she realised they were all looking at her, "It was about the monster in the story you told me about Angel and Cordy," she whispered in Buffy's ear.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you that story," Buffy chuckled, "Did you get to the part where Angel and Cordy and I killed the monster?"

"No," Faith said shaking her head.

"Well we did and it's gone now so you don't have to have scary dreams about it," Buffy said smoothing her hand over Faith's head.

"How come everyone is here?" Faith asked.

"We had to talk about Slayer stuff," Buffy told her.

"You don't gotta go out tonight do you?" Faith asked trying to twist in Buffy's lap so she could face the blonde Slayer.

"Not tonight, you and I are going to make Mom a special welcome home dinner, how does that sound?" Buffy asked.

"Can we have ice cream?" Faith asked her eyes lighting up at the prospect.

"I think a special welcome home Mom dinner deserves some ice cream," Buffy smiled.

"Yay, I'm gonna go and tell Mama," Faith said scrambling off Buffy's lap.

"If she's still sleeping don't you dare wake her up," Buffy called.

"I won't promise," Faith called back, already half way up the stairs.

"She's going to wake Mom up isn't she," Buffy said a moment later.

"Yeah," everyone in the room nodded.

"Okay....Faith!" Buffy called running out the room.

"Guess the meeting is adjourned then," Xander said standing and pulling Anya to her feet.

"Yes well we shall speak soon," Giles said bidding them all farewell, leaving after he wrote a quick note to Buffy telling her they would speak later.

* * *

"Who knew my girls were such fantastic chefs," Joyce said putting her napkin on the table.

"We didn't cook it Mama B called someone on the phone," Faith said licking the last of her ice cream off the phone.

"B also said don't tell Mom we ordered in," Buffy glared at the toddler.

"Well the placement on the plates was nice," Joyce smirked using a napkin to wipe the ice cream from Faith's face.

"We are glad to have you home Mom," Buffy said.

"I'm glad to be back home with my girls," Joyce said kissing the top of Faith's head and taking hold of Buffy's hand across the table, "I'm so proud of how well the two of you handled this whole situation."

"We were very brave like superheros weren't we Mama," Faith said smiling proudly.

"Yes you were baby," Joyce smiled, "And it is time for all good superheros to be in bed."

"Do I gotta?" Faith whined.

"Yes, you've had some late nights these last couple of days so I want you to get a proper night's sleep," Joyce said standing from her chair, "Buffy honey don't clean up I'll just put Faith to bed and then I'll come down and do it."

"It's okay Mom I got it," Buffy said gathering up the dishes.

She could hear Faith protesting as they walked out of the room and smiled at the young girl's stubbornness. She had just finished clearing the table when she heard Faith's footsteps thundering down the stairs. Expecting to get jumped on at any moment she frowned when she wasn't faced with a bundle of Faith sized energy. Stepping out into the entrance way her blood froze in her veins with what she saw. Faith, dressed in her pyjamas and holding her stuffed cow toy was standing in front of Glory who looked perfectly at home seated in one of their arm chairs.

The only thought running through her mind was, "God no."


	15. Chapter 15

She couldn't remember ever being so terrified in her life. Her mother's surgery, confronting the Master, thinking she had killed Ted, nothing compared to seeing her four year old sister standing face to face with the Hell God who wanted to bleed her dry to open a portal. She honestly didn't know what to do; she didn't want to provoke Glory or do anything that may make her hurt Faith but she also didn't want to just stand there and let Faith talk to this woman. She was frozen as she watched the two of them talk, Faith eyeing the curly haired woman curiously as she spoke.

"So sweetie what is your name?" Glory asked the pyjama clad toddler who stood in front of her.

"Faif," Faith replied not moving from where she stood.

"That's a pretty name," Glory replied smiling nicely, "My name is Glory."

"Are you a friend of B's?" Faith asked.

"Uh huh," Glory nodded.

"How come I never heard her talk about you before?" Faith asked putting her hands on her hips and despite her fear Buffy smiled at the toddler's brazen attitude.

"Well your sister and I have been having a fight lately because she has something special of mine and she won't tell me where it is," Glory said.

"Were you bad?" Faith asked, "'Cause if you're bad than B and Mama sayed you're not allowed to have something special."

"I wasn't bad Faithy," Glory said, "The truth is your sister has my key and I can't get home without it. Do you know what it's like to be trapped somewhere and you can't get home?"

"Once this bad man Wiley took me away and it was real scary until B came and saved me," Faith said coming to stand closer to the other woman. Buffy's heart rose in her throat when the toddler moved but Glory didn't seem to want to hurt her, seemed only like she wanted to talk so she stayed where she was ready to leap forward at any moment.

"See so you know how I feel," Glory said nodding.

"Do you miss your Mama?" Faith asked, "When they took me away I wanted to go home so I could see my Mama and B."

"Well I don't have a Mama but I do really want to get home," Glory said, "So Faithy I need you to help me out do you think you can do that?"

"Uh huh," Faith nodded her eyes lighting up.

"I need you to tell me where my key is. Where has your sister put my key?" Glory asked.

Faith scrunched her eyes up thinking before she walked over to the side table, standing on her tip toes and grabbing the set of house keys that were sitting in the bowl that rested there.

"I'm not allowed to have them 'cause Mama sayed I was too little but this is what she uses to get into our house," Faith said holding them up, "Maybe you can use these to get back to your home."

"Ugh see this is why I hate humans, especially the little ones, you are all so stupid," Glory said rising from her seat, "I'm going to ask you again Faith, what has your sister done with my KEY?"

"I dunno," Faith said her voice trembling when she noticed the way the woman now exuded danger, "She hasn't told me about a key, promise" she said softly dropping the house keys to the floor and clutching her stuffed cow to her chest.

"Tell you what kid, you tell me where my key is and I promise not to hurt your Mama and your sister what do you think about that?" Glory asked not moving any closer to Faith but leering at the toddler with an intimidating glint in her eyes.

"No, don't hurt them," Faith cried in a stricken tone, "I don't know where your key is but don't hurt my Mama or B please."

Buffy couldn't stay hidden any longer. Stepping out from the entrance way and into the living room she glared at the curly haired woman whose face brightened when she noticed the blonde Slayer's presence.

"Faith come here to me," Buffy said her eyes never leaving the smirking face of the Hell God standing near the couch.

The toddler didn't hesitate, moving faster than Buffy had ever seen her move she was in her arms in the blink of an eye. She didn't want the toddler to know how scared she was so she shifted her so she was resting on her hip and glowered at the curly haired woman making sure her voice was steady, giving away nothing as she spoke.

"Whatever it is you are looking for you will not find it here," she said, "Your key whatever it is we are just as clueless as you as to what it is so you need to leave my house, you are NOT welcome here."

"You think I'm afraid of you," Glory chuckled, "The Slayer thinks she can frighten me. Let me tell you little girl I will find my Key if it means I have to turn this town upside down."

She disappeared then, seeming to fade into nothing and Buffy let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Tightening her arms around the trembling girl she held she pressed her face into the top of the toddler's head who was hiding in the crook of her neck.

"She's gone Faithy, she's gone you're okay," she said feeling such an intense feeling of relief that she couldn't stop a lone tear from trailing down her cheek.

"She's gonna hurt Mama and you," Faith said her voice muffled into Buffy's neck.

The blonde Slayer panicked then, worried that Glory might have indeed gone upstairs and could quite possibly be hurting her mother. Her panic disappeared when her mother appeared at the base of the stairs, obviously worried when Faith hadn't come back upstairs.

"Buffy?" Joyce asked watching as the blonde rubbed the toddler's back comfortingly.

"Glory was just here," Buffy told her mother, "It's okay we're both fine," she said when her mother's eyes widened and she hurried over to where they stood.

"Faith baby are you okay?" Joyce asked as Buffy handed her the distressed young girl.

"I don't know where her key is," Faith said biting her lip, tears shining in her eyes but not falling, "And she said she was gonna hurt you and B if I didn't tell her but I don't know where it is Mama I promise I don't know."

"It's okay sweetheart," Joyce shushed her soothingly, "She's a very bad woman but Buffy and I would never let her hurt you."

"Not me she was gonna hurt you," Faith cried.

"Baby I wouldn't let her hurt Mom," Buffy said twirling a lock of Faith's hair around her finger.

"Who is gonna make sure that she doesn't hurt you?" Faith asked resting her head on Joyce's shoulder, still looking at Buffy.

"I'm the Slayer remember, I don't need anyone to look after me," Buffy said smiling.

"I'll make sure," Faith said seriously.

"I'm going to call Giles and tell him what happened and then see if Will can come over, do some sort of protection spell on the house or something," Buffy said.

"If Wilwow is gonna do magic can I watch?" Faith asked.

"Not tonight honey it's already way past your bedtime," Joyce said smiling when the toddler pouted.

"Please Mama I'll be real good I promise," Faith whined.

"Maybe next time but now it's time for all four year olds to be in bed," Joyce said carrying her towards the stairs.

"Can we have a sleepover in your room?" Faith asked her voice filtering into the kitchen where Buffy was dialling Giles' number, "So the bad lady doesn't come back."

The fear at seeing her sister so close to the woman who could kill her in a heartbeat still made Buffy's hands tremble as she held the phone to her ear. She didn't know how they had gotten so lucky, Glory had been within an arm's reach of Faith and she was still unaware that the toddler was who she was searching for vehemently for. She recounted what had happened to Giles quickly and after stressing that they were all okay and telling him she was going to have Willow do a spell on the house she hung up and dialled the number for the witches' dorm room.

She told the story again to Tara who answered the phone on its third ring and promised that she and Willow would be over in ten minutes to do the spell. Hanging up the phone Buffy ran a shuddering hand through her hair. She knew the protection spell wouldn't last forever, if it did they would have one up permanently but it would at least give her the peace of mind to sleep that night. If anything had happened to Faith, well she didn't even want to go there, not now, not when her mother was still recovering and she was still dealing with nearly losing her as well.

It didn't take long for Willow and Tara to arrive and after assuring them again that everyone was fine she watched the two of them burn incense and murmur something which sounded a lot like Latin.

"I'd like to see her try and get in here now," Willow grinned when they were done.

"Thanks again you guys for coming over so late," Buffy said.

"I-it's fine," Tara replied.

"So how are Faith and your Mom?" Willow asked.

"A bit shaken up but okay," Buffy sighed, "It was scary, to see her so close."

"She doesn't know right, I mean she couldn't tell just by being here that it was Faith she was after?" Willow asked.

"I don't know. I don't think so. No, no she didn't know, if she'd known Faith..."she trailed off not wanting to even think about what would've happened if Glory had known.

"W-well she can't get in here, a-at least for another t-three days," Tara said touching the blonde Slayer's arm soothingly.

"And we will try and find something more permanent before then, i-it takes a lot you know to keep it up but we'll keep looking promise," Willow said as they gathered up their things.

"Thank you, seriously above and beyond you guys," Buffy said seeing them off at the door, "Call you tomorrow."

The house didn't look any different but just knowing that Glory couldn't get in Buffy felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. As she made her way up the stairs she could hear the low murmuring of her mother and Faith talking, their conversation soothing her frazzled nerves. Just knowing the two of them were safe it made the corners of her mouth turn up in a relieved smile.

Faith and Joyce were lying on the older woman's bed with story books strewn around them. Joyce leaned over Faith and pulled the covers back not stoping her story as her older daughter slipped into the bed. She pulled Faith up onto her lap and the toddler looked up at her with such an amazing trust and vulnerability in her eyes that Buffy couldn't help but put her arms around her and hug her tight. Dropping a kiss to her sister's cheek she settled in against her mother as Joyce continued to read to them.

She felt Faith relax against her the toddler's breathing evening out and she let the steady sound soothe her until she felt her own eyelids begin to droop. The last thing before she let herself succumb to sleep was the blanket being pulled over her body and her mother smoothing a hand over her hair.

"It's going to be alright."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **A little bit of fluff before the real action begins.

* * *

When Buffy opened her eyes the next morning the first thing she saw was her mother staring at her softly. She rubbed a hand over her eyes as she untangled herself from a still sleeping Faith and glanced at the clock which flashed eight in the morning.

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked her mother clearing her throat.

"Tired, but much better," Joyce said, "You must've needed the rest you didn't wake up once last night."

"Guess I haven't been sleeping well lately with everything going on," Buffy shrugged.

"Faith had nightmares," her mother sighed running her hand tenderly over the sleeping toddler's hair, "She woke up five times sobbing that's why I was so surprised you slept through it."

"Was she dreaming about Glory?" Buffy asked glancing down at her sister.

"She wouldn't really say, just something about not wanting to fall," Joyce shrugged, "This Glory woman she's not going to stop is she?"

"Not until she gets what she wants," Buffy shook her head.

"Buffy you can't let that happen you have to promise me," Joyce said suddenly sounding scared, "We can't let anything happen to her."

"We won't Mom I promise," Buffy said.

"Right," Joyce said wiping a few trickling tears from her cheek, "Well I'm going to cook us something for breakfast, something special I think."

"Chocolate chip pancakes?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"Why is it that you always manage to ask me that when I'm feeling particularly generous?" Joyce smiled her eyes glinting amusedly.

"Just lucky I guess, and I know you'll make them because you love me so much," Buffy shrugged ducking out of the way of the pillow her mother threw at her.

"Do you want me to get Faith up and dressed while you cook?" Buffy asked sparing a glance to the sleeping toddler who had cuddled up at her side again.

"Let her sleep," Joyce sighed, "We can always reheat the pancakes if she doesn't wake; she had a pretty rough night."

"Sorry," Buffy said.

"It's okay sweetheart, I think it's about time I started being the Mom again anyway," Joyce smiled at her softly.

"We have missed you around here," Buffy said shifting so her arm was around Faith's shoulders.

"I've missed being here," Joyce said wistfully, "Alright I will call you when breakfast is ready," Joyce said taking one last look at her daughters tucked up on her bed before going down to the kitchen.

Buffy looked down at Faith when she felt her moving at her side, the small girl had her forehead resting against her sister's shoulder and her arm thrown across Buffy's stomach. She stroked Faith's hair absently as the toddler woke scrunching up her eyes as she fought to stay asleep. It was going to be hard but they would have to try and keep Faith in the house, at least for the couple of days that the protection spell would last. With Glory searching high and low for her Key they would take no chances, especially since Faith could hardly defend herself against the God who would end her life in the blink of an eye, four year old or not.

"Mama?" Faith mumbled burying deeper into Buffy's side.

"Not Mama baby it's Buffy," the blonde Slayer said, "Mom is downstairs making breakfast."

"Do we gotta get up?" Faith asked groggily looking up at Buffy.

"No not yet," Buffy said running her fingers through Faith's long hair, "Mom said she will call us when it's ready."

The toddler sighed and her eyes drooped so they were nearly shut, her thumb wound its way into her mouth and she moved so her head was resting on Buffy's chest.

"Mom said you didn't sleep well last night, that you had bad dreams," Buffy said playing with the end of Faith's hair.

"Uh huh," Faith mumbled around her thumb.

"Do you want to tell me about them?" Buffy asked.

"I don't member much," Faith said snuggling in under Buffy's chin, "But I was up high and I didn't wanna fall off and the bad lady was there and she pushed you off."

"The bad lady that was here yesterday?" Buffy asked her concern growing.

"Uh huh and she was gonna hurt me but then you came to save me but she pushed you off," Faith said her fingers tightening their grip on Buffy's tank top.

"You know it was just a dream right, that's not going to happen, I won't let it happen," Buffy said sitting up in the bed and wrapping her arms around the toddle so she ended up sitting in the blonde Slayer's lap.

"It was scary," Faith said rubbing her eyes.

"But it wasn't real, whenever you have a bad dream you just have to remember that it's not real," Buffy said.

"It felt real," Faith frowned leaning her body against Buffy's, "And I felt sad when I woked up 'cause you fell off."

"Not gonna happen," Buffy said, "No one is going to push me off anything I don't wanna be pushed off, especially if it stops me from getting to you."

"Not even the bad lady?" Faith asked.

"Not even the bad lady," Buffy reaffirmed kissing her on the forehead, "Now what do you say we go downstairs because a little birdie told me we were having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast," she said scooping Faith up and resting her on her hip.

"What little birdie?" Faith asked as they went downstairs.

"Not a real birdie it's just something people say," Buffy frowned not actually sure how to explain it, "It's too early to explain but let's just go with hooray for chocolate chip pancakes."

"They're my favourite for breakfast," Faith told her wrapping her fingers around Buffy's necklace.

"Look who's up," Buffy said carrying the toddler into the kitchen and next to where her mother was standing at the stove flipping the pancakes in a pan.

"Good morning sweetheart," Joyce said leaning over and giving Faith a kiss.

"Morning Mama," Faith said.

The two older Summers women made a mental decision right then and there to try and act as normal as possible. They didn't want Faith to realise that anything was different, that the two of them were on edge, half expecting the blonde haired Hell God to break down the door at any moment and whisk her away. The young girl had no idea that she was so important to the evil woman's plans and they wanted to keep it that way. Buffy was already thinking of what they would do when the protection spell ran out, Glory knew how important her family was to her and if she truly believed that Buffy knew where her Key was she had no doubt that she would do everything in her power to get her to talk including hurting those she loved. It was why the Council had always tried to keep the Slayer as solitary as possible; the less she had to care about the less likely she was going to be distracted from the mission.

Several hours later Buffy was on the phone to Giles when she felt someone tugging on her elbow. Looking down she saw Faith hopping from one foot to the other with an expectant look on her face.

"Hold on Giles," she said before placing her hand over the mouthpiece, "Faithy what is it?"

"Nothin'," the toddler replied looking at the floor.

"Sorry Giles continue," Buffy said into the phone, "Okay so you're saying it's possible for her to ugh Giles hold on," she said putting her hand over the phone as she felt a tug on her elbow again, "Faith what is it?"

"I need to show you something," the toddler said.

"Can it wait till I'm off the phone? I'm talking to Grandpa Giles about something very important," Buffy said prying the toddler's hand off her arm.

"No this is importanter," Faith pleaded tugging on her hand.

"Okay, okay," the blonde sighed taking her hand off the mouth piece, "Look Giles we know it's happened before all I wanted to know if this was another one. Just can you please look into it, see if it means anything, if there's a connection there somewhere and then call me back."

When she hung up the phone Faith was nowhere to be found. Frowning she checked the kitchen again before making her way into the living room.

"Faith?" she called, "Faithy where are you?"

When her sister didn't reply she looked behind the couch and the bookcase before she heard a soft sigh from under the side table. She crouched down so she was on her knees and came face to face with Faith who was hiding under there with her knees pulled up to her chest.

"What are you doing under there? I thought you wanted to show me something," Buffy said.

"I do," Faith mumbled, "But you're gonna get real mad so I don't wanna show you anymore."

"What if I promise that I won't get mad will you show me then?" Buffy asked.

"I know you're gonna get mad," Faith said shaking her head.

"How can you know that until you show me what it is?" Buffy asked.

"Because I asked Mr. Gordo and he said you would be real mad," Faith said.

"Oh he did did he," Buffy chuckled, "Well maybe I should have a talk to him so he doesn't go around saying things about me behind my back. That pig has no right I can make up my own mind if I'm going to be mad or not."

"Don't be mad at him, he only told me 'cause I asked him," Faith said her eyes wide, scooting out from under the table and putting her hand on Buffy's knees.

"Okay well," Buffy said pretending to think for a moment, "How about this. If you show me what it is you were going to show me, then I won't get mad at Mr. Gordo."

Faith sighed before finally nodding her head resignedly. Buffy held out her hand and the toddler took it and pulled her towards the stairs.

"Mama is not still sick is she?" Faith asked as they walked past their mother's closed door.

"She's just recovering baby, so she'll be tired for a little while but she's not sick anymore," Buffy assured her sister as they headed towards her room.

"You promise you're not gonna yell," Faith said turning to face Buffy as they stood outside the closed door to the blonde's bedroom.

"I promise, there will be no yelling at you or at Mr. Gordo," Buffy said crossing her heart.

"I wanted to do something good 'cause you said we had to be real helpful till Mama got all better," Faith said running into the room and jumping up onto the bed grabbing up Mr. Gordo from where he rested in the middle of Buffy's pillows and holding him tight to her chest.

It was kind of hard to miss what Faith had wanted to show her. The previously clean carpet near her bedside table now had a rather large deep purple nail polish stain and the formerly full bottle now lay empty in the middle of it. The photo of Xander, Buffy and Willow that had rested on the side table was smashed on the floor as well, the shards of glass sticking up awkwardly amongst the stained floor.

"Baby you didn't cut yourself on the glass did you?" Buffy asked flashing a glance to her sister who sat nervously in the middle of her bed.

"No," Faith said quietly rubbing her face on Mr. Gordo's fur.

"What happened?" Buffy asked gingerly picking up the sticky pieces of glass from the floor.

"I wanted to help Mama so I wanted to make your room tidy 'cause that's what mama does when she says you're a mess," Faith said.

"Hey I'm not a mess," Buffy pouted.

"Mama says you are," Faith shrugged, "But when I was trying to make your room tidy I brushed the table with the cloth like Mama does but it felled off and it made a big mess," Faith said her lower lip trembling, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay baby I know you didn't mean to do it," Buffy said making sure there was no glass left on the floor.

"Aren't you mad that I broked your photo and your floor?" Faith asked.

"No because I know you didn't do it on purpose and you said you were sorry," Buffy said.

"Do you think Mama will be mad?" Faith asked scooting over so she could see over the side of the bed.

"No she won't be mad," Buffy said jumping up onto the bed and pulling Faith onto her lap, "And I'm not mad."

"And Mr. Gordo isn't mad either," Faith said squishing the toy in-between their bodies.

"You know what we should do this afternoon?" Buffy asked rubbing her hand up and down Faith's back.

"What?" Faith asked wrapping her arms around Buffy's neck.

"You and I could make a new frame for my photo. Do you think that would be fun?" Buffy asked.

"Can we use glitter?" Faith asked her eyes lighting up.

"I'm probably going to regret saying this but sure, what is a photo frame without glitter," Buffy smirked standing with Faith in her arms.

When Joyce came downstairs later that afternoon she found both of her daughters sitting at the kitchen table covered head to toe with purple glitter.

"Was there an attack by a glitter demon that I wasn't aware of," Joyce chuckled.

"Look what we made Mama!" Faith said excitedly holding up their finished product. The square frame was completely covered in glitter and had different coloured cup cake patty's glued around the edges.

"It's beautiful honey," Joyce said taking it gingerly, careful to avoid the glue.

"B is gonna put her bestest picture of Xander, Wilwow and her in it and it's gonna go right next to her bed but she sayed she's gonna think of me when she looks at it 'cause she knows that we made it together," the toddler said proudly looking at her sister for confirmation and when she nodded the youngest smiled happily at her mother.

"Well I'm a little bit jealous how come I didn't get a beautiful picture frame?" Joyce teased joining them at the table.

"I didn't break yours," Faith shrugged, her eyes widening when she realised what she'd said, "Whoops."

"It's okay I like this one better anyway," Buffy said pulling Faith onto her lap, "I think you and I should go get deglitterised."

"Aw I don't wanna, I like being sparkly," Faith said waving her hand so the light bounced off the glitter that covered it.

"You may like to be sparkly but my house doesn't," Joyce said as Buffy lifted a pouting Faith.

"Are you sure 'cause maybe it wants to get more pretty," Faith called over Buffy's shoulder as she was carried from the room.

"Oh I'm definitely sure," Joyce chuckled as she started gathering up the mess on the table, "Absolutely positive."


	17. Chapter 17

The morning was just like any other. They woke up, got dressed and ate breakfast but as much as they tried to deny it both Joyce and Buffy knew what would happen in just a few short hours time. The protection spell Willow and Tara put around the house would run out and should Glory decide to make another announced visit there would be nothing in their power they could do to stop her. Keeping Faith in the house had not been as hard as they thought it would, in fact the toddler had seemed to relish the extra attention her mother and sister gave her and had no idea of the danger that lurked outside.

The rest of the Scooby Gang had spent the last couple of days researching frantically, trying to find anything that could keep Faith off Glory's radar. Giles had even been in contact with a spirit guide he knew to try and buy them a longer use of the protection spell but they had been denied. It would seem that the spirit world wanted Glory gone as much as they did only they didn't care if a young girl had to lose her life in the process. The phrase all for the greater good had been thrown around and Buffy had had to stop herself from putting her fist through the wall when Giles had phoned to tell her what they said.

They still hadn't found a way to defeat Glory, she was strong and as much as Buffy hated to admit it if it came down to a fist to fist fight she knew she would not come up on top. Their only hope at the moment was that the identity of the Key was still a mystery to the God and maybe just maybe she would run out of time to perform her ritual.

"B?" Faith questioned bouncing on Buffy's lap.

"What?" Buffy said looking down at her sister distractedly.

"You stopped reading," Faith pouted indication the book Buffy held out in front of them, "If it's because you're scared you don't have to be 'cause Mama told me that the lady in the book isn't real."

Buffy looked down at the picture, in truth the illustration of the evil Malificent in Sleeping Beauty bore no resemblance to the Hell God that wished to take her sister away but in her own mind they were one in the same, both using someone else for their own selfish and evil endeavours.

"I know she's not real, I'm sorry guess I'm a little bit distracted," Buffy said glancing at the clock, the hour that the spell would expire seemed to mock her.

"When Xander reads me stories he makes funny voices," Faith told her, "But he got real scared when he read me Dumbo so we had to change stories."

"Well Xander's a goof, there's nothing scary about Dumbo, you know except for the glaringly obvious racist stuff," Buffy shrugged.

The look Faith gave her was nothing short of comical as the remark sailed right over her head. The toddler scrunched her eyebrows together as she tried to make sense of it before she shook her head and turned so she was facing Buffy.

"How come Xander and Wilwow haven't been coming over?" she asked.

"They've been working hard trying to figure out how to stop Glory, you know the bad lady that was here the other day," Buffy told her.

"But do we get to see them soon?" Faith asked.

"They're coming over later today so we can have a Scooby meeting," Buffy said.

"Can I come to the meeting?" Faith asked.

"I don't think so baby, you'd just be bored anyway," Buffy told her.

"I won't be bored I promise, I'll be real good and I won't be bored," Faith pleaded placing her hands on Buffy's shoulders.

"We'll see," Buffy said using the phrase her mother had often used when she was younger and had frustrated her just as much as she could tell it was Faith, "Do you want to watch Scooby Doo?" she asked in an attempt to distract her sister from the argument she just knew would happen.

"Will you watch it with me?" Faith asked.

"For a little while," Buffy said as their mother came into the room, the worry lines that stood out on her forehead letting her know that she too was keeping a close eye on the clock.

They had planned the timing of the Scooby meeting intentionally around the time when Faith usually took a nap. Both Slayer and mother not wanting the younger one to hear just how crucial to the end of the world she may be. As the time clicked closer and closer both Buffy and Joyce found themselves throwing worried glances to the very much still awake toddler that sat between them eyes glued on the screen and the clocked the ticked over closer and closer towards both meeting and spell ending time.

"This part is always scary," Faith said hiding her face in Buffy's shoulder.

"Just close your eyes and think of something happy," Buffy said taking the opportunity.

She ran her fingers through the younger girl's hair in a soothing way that never failed to relax her enough to sleep and sure enough she soon felt the toddler's body sink against hers and both she and Joyce breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Not long now," Joyce whispered glancing at the clock, whether she meant that the spell would run out or the gang would arrive Buffy didn't know.

She managed to gather the sleeping child onto her lap and hugged her tight breathing in the distinctive innocence that surrounded her. Joyce moved so her body sheltered her daughter's, knowing in her heart of hearts that when it came down to it there wasn't much she could do to protect them from this danger but needing to offer comfort in any way that she could. Buffy leaned against her mother, her head on Joyce's chest, the heartbeat the thudded beneath her ear beating in time with the ticking clock. They didn't speak, just relished the feeling of sharing comfort, listening to the peaceful sighs of the youngest that rested blissfully unaware of the torment her mother and sister were going through.

They jumped when the doorbell rang, somehow forgetting that their little bubble was going to be interrupted by what they both assumed was only going to be bad news. Buffy wanted so badly to just keep Faith down there with them, keep hold of her to just have her near but she knew it wouldn't be smart as she could wake up any time.

"I'll get the door honey if you want to take her upstairs," Joyce said dropping a kiss to the top of both her daughter's heads.

As she trudged wearily up the stairs with Faith's warm breath blowing steadily onto her neck she couldn't help but want to escape. To give it all up, to be anywhere else, anyone else, to just be a normal big sister who wasn't carrying the girl in her arms upstairs so she didn't wake and hear things about a God who wanted to kill her, but to be carrying her upstairs so she could dream peacefully and happily. As she heard the voices of her friends drift up the stairs she was reminded that she was not any other girl. She was the Slayer and this was her duty and therefore the unfortunate burden her family would also have to bear. She took a moment to just stare at the carefree face of the toddler she tucked carefully into bed, kissing her softly on the forehead before closing the door quietly before she headed back downstairs.

She nodded a grim greeting to her friends before settling herself on the couch next to her mother, both of them looking for the clock for a confirmation of how much longer they would definitely be safe for. Two hours was not a long time and every tick of the second hand as it clicked over made everyone in the room's stomach drop.

"What have you found?" Buffy asked clearing her throat.

"Not much I'm afraid," Giles said rubbing his eyes in frustration.

It was obvious from the dark shadows underneath his eyes that he hadn't slept much over the last couple of days. He as much as anyone else in the room would do anything in their power to stop something terrible happening to the young girl they had all come to care for so much. For the Watcher this was his chance to redeem himself with the girl he felt he had failed the first time around, she was the grandchild he somehow knew he would never have and he loved her just as much as he loved the other young people that had come to form his family. For the other young people Faith had become the little sister none of them had ever had. As each day passed they forgot a little bit more about the person she had been until all that was left was the little girl she was now. They would do anything to protect her, but their hope was disappearing fast.

"How is that even possible? How do they expect us to fight this thing if they don't give us anything! Giles you must not be looking hard enough, you have to be missing something," Buffy all but screamed.

"Buffy," Joyce admonished looking every bit as stressed as her daughter.

"I'm sorry," Buffy sighed running a hand through her hair, "Really Giles I am, I know how hard you're working, all of you. I just hate feeling useless and knowing nothing that will help me stop her."

"We don't have nothing nothing," Willow said stepping up to comfort her friend, "I know you guys have been house bound these last couple of days so you haven't seen it but there is the sudden appearance of a less than stable looking tower being built over by the docks."

"Was she there?" Buffy asked.

"No but there were those creepy looking monk guys who are in a serious need for a shower or two," Xander shuddered.

"A-and people helping them only they seemed," Tara was interrupted by Willow.

"Crazy," the witch said excitedly, "I just remembered what they reminded me of. Buffy you remember that guard at the hospital who you said you'd seen the night before."

"The one who said weird things to Faith?" Buffy said scrunching up her eyebrows.

"Yes, they sounded like him and the monks were ordering them around, making them build the tower," Willow said, "And I now realise I got excited for nothing because I don't even know what that means."

"It means she's got a rag tag army of crazy people and scabby monks which we can take out," Xander said, "Right Buff?"

"A tower," Buffy said her face paling, "Giles a tower. I told you about Faith's dreams, she said she was up high and Glory pushed me off so I couldn't save her. It was a Slayer dream, I knew it was, how else would she have seen the tower. Oh God I'm not going to be able to save her, Glory is going to get her."

"Honey calm down," Joyce said moving to take hold of her panicked daughter.

For the others it was a rare glimpse into the girl that was Buffy Summers and not the Slayer. The Slayer never panicked, she was calm, calculated and did what she had to to get the job done. All too often they forgot that Buffy Summers was a just a girl, barely twenty years old who had under some weird twist of fate ended up with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Yet here she was, frustrated, angry and so scared that someone was going to hurt her little sister.

"How can I calm down," the girl in Buffy Summers yells, "Glory is going to get Faith, cut her open and bleed her dry and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Her blood is going to end the world, Faith is going to end the world and you're telling me to calm down. I mean we may as well just hand her over to Glory and let her carve her up, wouldn't that make it easier for all the good we've been able to do so far," her shoulders slump in defeat, "I can't just let her die, we have to find something to stop this. I won't let her die."

Their heads all snap to the right as they hear the front door slam counting the faces in the room and knowing instantly who it must've been. How much she had heard they couldn't be sure but they all felt the cold fear and dread that spread through them like a disease. The blonde who physically had to catch herself on the couch as her knees went weak was nearly sick as she thought of what her sister had just heard, the older woman at her side torn between which daughter to try and help first.

"Oh God Faith."

**A/N: Drop me a line gentle readers and let me know you're still out there and what you're thinking after this chapter. **


	18. Chapter 18

"Oh God oh God oh God," Buffy said frantically, "She heard, what do we do?" the blonde Slayer cried clearly panicking.

"Buffy honey you have to calm down," Joyce said her voice calm, "It's going to be okay but the longer we panic the longer she is out there on her own."

"She heard me say that I was going to let her die, how is that going to be okay?" Buffy cried.

"We will deal with that later but right now we have to concentrate on finding her," Joyce said grabbing a hold of Buffy's arm to stop her anxious pacing, "Mr. Giles if you wouldn't mind taking your car and I will take mine as well, the rest of you if you could split up and go by foot."

"Of course," Giles said, "We all have phones yes," he said looking to the others who nodded, "As soon as someone finds her they will call and let the others know."

"We'll find her," Willow said placing one hand on Joyce's arm and pulling her best friend into a hug with the other before following the others out the door.

"How could I have let this happen?" Buffy asked her voice trembling as the front door closed, "How could I have been so stupid? She must be so scared."

"Buffy I know you want to fall apart but that is not going to help nobody. Right now you can't be her big sister, right now you have to be the Slayer and get out there and find her," Joyce said.

Although her mother's voice was firm Buffy could see the panic that lay just beneath the surface. She was trying not to show it for both her daughter's sakes but Joyce Summers was definitely afraid.

"Okay," Buffy said taking a deep breath to calm herself down, "Let's find her."

* * *

As Faith ran down the streets away from the house she bit her lip to stop the tears that so desperately wanted to fall from her eyes. She had finally let herself believe that they loved her but she had heard what Buffy had said and people who love each other don't say things like that.

She might have only been four years old but Faith was good at getting lost. At her last home with her bad Mama she had had a lot of practice at disappearing so she made sure she stayed out of sight of the street as she ran. She wasn't sure where she was going but she kept running until she could feel her legs start to tremble from exertion.

Sunnydale wasn't that big of a town so the residential are soon turned into the centre of town and Faith found an alley which looked good enough to hide in. Back in Boston she had spent many a night in an alley just like this one so she should have been used to it. That was before she had known what it felt like to have a family and suddenly she didn't feel so safe where she sat crouched down behind a dumpster. It was then that the toddler finally began to cry, feeling an incredible sadness that she hadn't felt for so long.

As much as she was angry at Buffy for saying she would let Glory kill her she had never felt quite as safe as she did when she was wrapped in her big sister or her mother's arms. She had been so desperate to get out of the house that she couldn't remember how she had gotten here and no matter how much she wanted to get back to them she knew she was lost. She cried out for her mother and for Buffy but knowing that they probably wouldn't come and find her because they would be mad that she ran away.

Heavy footsteps sounded in the alley and the toddler held her breath as she tried to suppress her sobs. She tried desperately to back herself further back into the alley but the brick wall behind her back kept her where she was. Her whole body shook with fear and she couldn't stop the startled yelp that escaped her when a man's face appeared around the corner of the dumpster. She tried to stop her tears and be brave but she was scared and tired and just wanted to go home. She tried to remember how she knew the man that was kneeling before her but in her panic she couldn't place him.

"Hey," he said reaching for her as she shrunk back against the wall, "Aren't you Buffy's sister?"

"Uh huh," she nodded biting her trembling lip as she looked back at him.

"Faith right," he said smiling when she nodded, "It's me Ben from the hospital, do you remember me?"

"You made me Doctor Faif," the toddler hiccupped.

"That's right my favourite doctor yet," Ben said settling himself on the floor in front of her, "So what are you doing all the way in town by yourself?"

"I ranned away," Faith told him scooting forward so her legs touched his, "But now I want my Mama."

"Okay, it's okay, don't cry," Ben soothed grateful when she allowed him pull her into a hug, "How about we get some ice cream and then phone your Mom and let her know you're okay."

Faith nodded and allowed him to pick her up and rest her on his hip. She remembered how nice he had been at the hospital so she wasn't worried about going with him; she just hoped she wouldn't get into too much trouble when she got home.

* * *

Buffy forced herself to walk not wanting to miss seeing Faith because she was moving too fast. The only thing that was stopping her from falling apart completely was the gentle hum at the base of her spine that let her know that Faith was still alive. She reasoned with herself that Glory didn't know Faith was the Key so chances were that she wouldn't even be looking for the toddler but if she did stumble upon the young girl she knew without a doubt that she would her because it would hurt the Slayer.

She hated to think what Faith would be feeling right now after hearing the person who had sworn to protect her say that they might as well just hand her over to be killed. She bit back a sob as she forced herself forward, she didn't deserve to break down when it was all her fault that this had happened in the first place. It hurt to think of how she would ever win Faith's trust again, the toddler had already been betrayed so many times that it would be hard to win that back.

She shook her head as she pushed those thoughts from her mind. Her mother was right, they couldn't focus on that now, they just had to get her back and then they would worry about that. The blonde pulled her cell phone from her pocket and checked it for what felt like the thousandth time just hoping that it would ring and someone would tell her that Faith was safe. Sighing she put it back in her pocket and took a deep breath before she resumed her search, looking around desperately for the familiar face she so badly wanted to see.

* * *

"So do you want to tell me why you ran away?" Ben asked the toddler sitting next to him on the park bench.

She licked the ice cream he had bought her happily as he flicked through the phone book hoping that the Summers number was listed.

"There is a bad lady that tried to hurt B 'cause she's the Slayer," Faith said her eyes widening when she realised what she'd said, "Don't tell no one that I was 'sposed to keep it secret."

"I won't tell anyone," Ben said miming zipping his lips, "Wow so Buffy's the Slayer, but she's so little."

"She's got superpowers and everything, kinda like Batman," Faith said proudly missing the melting ice cream that dropped onto her shirt.

"I heard Slayers were pretty cool," Ben smiled using a serviette to wipe the ice cream from the toddler's face, "So if the bad lady is after Buffy then why did you run away?"

"When I was in my room I heard B yelling real loud so I came down to see what was happening," Faith said her lower lip beginning to tremble, "B sayed the bad lady Gwory that she was gonna give her to me and she was gonna cut me and use my blood to end the world," Faith said her tears returning, "I don't wanna be cut."

"Y-you're blood can end the world?" Ben asked his face paling, "You're the Key. Faith you have to listen to me you have to get out of her now."

"W-what w-why you have to take me to my Mama," Faith said tears still running down her cheeks.

"I know I promised but she's coming you have to go, she can't find out you're the Key" Ben said standing.

"W-who's coming?" Faith asked.

"Me."


	19. Chapter 19

Faith could remember screaming as Ben transformed into Glory in front of her. She could remember trying to run but the woman had been too fast and had snagged her around the waist in the blink of an eye. Glory held a cloth over her mouth and nose that smelt funny and she tried to struggle but she suddenly felt like her limbs were made of lead and the last thing she heard before she succumbed to darkness was the excited laughter of her captor.

When she began to stir some time later she almost thought that it had all been a bad dream. That maybe she was tucked into bed and at any second Buffy would bound in and tickle her belly until she woke up properly. As the cold from the hard ground she lay on seeped through her clothing though she knew it was all too real. She struggled to clear her vision as her eyes opened and her thumb wound its way into her mouth as she took in the room around her. The room was small, the walls made of corrugated iron and the floor on which she was lying was a bare concrete. There was no windows and only one door that was blocked by a man in a long brown robe. His face was covered in scabs and Faith cringed at the thought of him touching her.

The monk was talking to Glory who had her back turned to Faith and hadn't noticed that the toddler was awake. Faith looked around desperately for somewhere she could hide and tried to crawl over to the corner somehow believing she could feel safer there but whatever had been on that cloth had made her feel weird and she couldn't make her legs move properly.

"Mistress Glory it is awake," the monk said noticing that her eyes were open.

The smile on Glory's face as she turned around was nothing but childlike but Faith still couldn't stop herself from curling tightly into a ball as she approached.

"Would you like me to bound and gag her most beautiful one?" the monk asked trailing a few steps behind the woman.

"No we don't want to bruise it," Glory said kneeling down so she was nearly face to face with a trembling Faith.

"Of course, how stupid of me, please forgive me one of indescribable beauty," the monk said bowing.

"Leave us," Glory directed over her shoulder at him, "There is a lot that needs to be done before tonight," she said and he nodded hurriedly heading towards the door, "Oh and Dreg sweetie."

"Yes Mistress," he stopped.

"You better not let me down," she said sweetly and he gulped before scurrying towards the door and leaving the two of them alone.

"I was worried there for a second that you were never going to wake up," Glory said turning back to face Faith, "Dreg considered hitting you but I didn't let him 'cause you just looked so cute sleeping."

"I want my Mama," Faith mumbled around her thumb.

"So do I Faithy but I won't be able to unless you help me out," Glory said, "Hey how come you lied to me when I asked you about where my Key was when all along it was you."

"I didn't know," Faith mumbled finally having the strength to push herself into a sitting position.

"That's too bad, but it doesn't matter I've found you now," Glory said smiling happily.

"What is the Key?" Faith asked.

"The Key is the Twice Blessed, the one with a sacred duty whose blood has been blessed twice with life and touched by death," Glory said, "So you see you are very very special, although I don't know how you can be the Twice Blessed, you're so little."

"I'm not little I'm a big girl," Faith pouted.

"Yeah you're a regular giant," Glory snorted, "Dreg!" she yelled.

"Yes oh magnificent one," Dreg said his head popping through the door.

"Bring me one of those mindless idiots, I want to make sure Faithy here is who she says she is," Glory said.

Dreg disappeared and came back moments later pushing the man who Faith recognised as the one who had acted strangely towards her at the hospital.

"It's bright, so beautiful, but it doesn't belong here, oh no, the Key doesn't belong," the man said pointing at Faith.

"Oh this is wonderful," Glory said clapping her hands, "Who would have thought that the Slayer's sister would be my Key, that's gotta be some sort of poetic justice. Did I use that right?" she asked Dreg who shoved the other man out the door.

"Of course you did, your mind shines as bright as your beauty," Dreg said bowing slightly.

"Dreg darling can you go and fetch something nicer for Faithy to wear, jeans and a tank top just don't scream ritual sacrifice," Glory said clasping her hands together.

"What are you gonna do to me?" Faith asked after Dreg had left.

"Well you are the most important part of the whole thing you lucky girl," Glory said standing, "You see I need your blood to open the portal so I'll have to cut you and you will become a sacrifice."

"I don't wanna be a sacrifice," Faith said her thumb finding its way into her mouth again.

"Oh sweetie it won't hurt that much, just a little slice here and there and as soon as you've lost enough blood you'll pass out and won't feel a thing," Glory said.

"B will come and save me, she won't let you cut me," Faith said.

"No one is coming to get you Faithy, they are all mad because you ran away but how about I make you a little promise," Glory said.

"What?" Faith trembled.

"If they do come I promise I won't hurt them, Buffy, your mother, I won't hurt them if you be a good girl and do as I say," Glory said.

"If I be a sacrifice you won't hurt Mama or B," Faith said.

"Cross my heart," Glory said miming crossing her heart.

"Okay," Faith said softly after awhile.

"I knew you and I would get alone," Glory said scooping Faith up from the floor.

The toddler didn't struggle and allowed herself to be carried over to and sat down on the only table in the room. She was more than terrified but she didn't want her mother or sister to get hurt so she stayed quiet as Glory changed her into the dress and shoes Dreg hand bought in.

"Let me get a look at you," Glory said helping her stand up on the table, "Don't you look precious."

The dress was made of a deep purple sating and fell to just above the matching ballet flats. The sleeves were short and trimmed with a gold ribbon that ran down the collar and tied in a bow at the front. Faith was scared but she was also confused as Glory handled her with as much care and concern as her mother would.

"Do you like pizza honey?" Glory asked as Dreg came in with a steaming plate of food that smelled delicious to the toddler who hadn't eaten for awhile.

"Yeah," Faith said fiddling with the hem of her sleeve.

"Well eat up because this one is just for you," Glory said grabbing the plate from Dreg and hopping up onto the table to sit next to Faith, "Try not to get any on the dress though I've heard tomato paste is harder to get out of satin then blood, although that probably isn't going to be a problem for so long but still try to keep it clean it would look better for the ritual."

Faith ate her pizza in silence not able to stop her tears from starting again when she thought about the last time she had eaten pizza with her family.

"Don't you like the pizza?" Glory asked confused by the young girl's tears.

"I-I do but I'm s-sad and I-I want my Mama," Faith sobbed.

"Well don't be sad, this is your day, your time to shine baby so don't let me see those tears or I might get a little bit mad," Glory said clenching her hands into a fist.

"I d-don't wanna die," Faith cried not able to stop her tears.

"I said to STOP CRYING, no-no, not now can't you see that I'm busy, I asked my mother for a sister but no one ever listens to me do they, no-no go away, ARGH," Glory screamed.

The toddler's breath hitched in her throat as she watched the woman before her shift and blur into the face of the man who had started this whole thing. His hair was crumpled and he looked ridiculous in the red velvet dress the woman had been wearing but Faith felt an instant relief as soon as he appeared. She didn't understand how it was happening but at that moment she didn't care.

"Faith? Wha-what's going on?"


	20. Chapter 20

"B-Ben?" Faith stuttered, "I-is she gone?"

"Oh my God what have I done?" Ben groaned his eyes wide as he took in the crying toddler in front of him.

"You were taking me back to my Mama and then you turned into Glory and she took me here and she sayed she was gonna stab me but I don't want her to plase don't let her cut me," Faith cried.

"She is always doing this," Ben growled his eyes wild, "We have to get you out of here I have no idea when she's going to come back."

"Can you call B and she can come and get me?" Faith hiccupped.

Ben nodded hurriedly trying to plug in the phone cord that bad been ripped from the wall socket.

"Your number is the last thing I remember from before she came," he said quickly punching in the numbers.

In her short life Faith had had her fair share of terrible things done to her. Before she came to live with the Summers she would have had no hope that anyone would come and save her, but Buffy was a superhero and she knew that superheroes always saved the day...well Spiderman always did.

* * *

Buffy hadn't wanted to but both her mother and Giles had insisted she return to the house for a bite to eat. She could hear her mother's despair over the phone and knew that Faith still hadn't been found. The humming at the base of her spine was still there so she knew the younger girl was still alive.

"Buffy slow down or you'll make yourself sick," Joyce chided as she watched her eldest shovel food into her mouth at an alarming rate.

"I can't, the longer I'm here the longer she's out there," Buffy paused between bites for a breath.

"I know you're scared sweetheart but you can't run yourself into the ground or you'll be no good to anyone," Joyce said softly.

"Your mother is right Buffy, if Glory does god forbid have Faith then you're going to have to be at full strength to fight her," Giles said coming into the kitchen.

"What is our plan if she does have her because I'm thinking portal to wherever she came from won't be winning any awards for safest vacation spot," Xander said following Giles with Anya in tow.

"If she has Faith then I will kill her," Buffy ground out her fist clenching around the fork she held causing it to snap in half.

"No offense but she more than kicked your ass last time you fought her and she hardly raised a sweat. When that portal opens I don't see much hope in you being able to stop her," Anya said.

"STOP IT!" Buffy yelled slamming her fist down on the table and making everyone jump, "Stop talking like that, for the portal to open Faith has to die, don't you get that? You're talking like it's a done deal, she's still alive and she's scared, I can feel her so stop talking like she's dead and give me something I can use otherwise you can just leave!"

The kitchen was silent apart from Buffy's heavy breathing and Xander and Anya nearly cowered under the intensity of the blonde Slayer's gaze. The shrill ringing of the telephone seemed to break them from their thoughts and Buffy practically leapt over the table to answer it.

"Faith?" she asked breathlessly.

"No Buffy it's Ben," the voice said on the other end.

"Ben?" Doctor Ben?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, look I don't have much time I don't know when she'll come back," he rushed.

"Who'll come back?" Buffy asked.

"Glory, she shares my body but when I was me I found Faith and I was bringing her back to you and she was telling me why she was upset and how she found out she was the Key and I couldn't stop her and Glory took her," Ben said.

"She has her," Buffy breathed a sigh of relief now she at least knew for sure Faith was still alive, "Wait, you share a body with Glory?"

"She can't survive in this dimension without a human host," Ben explained, "Listen she's got Faith in a foreman's hut down in the warehouse district but you have to hurry I don't know when she'll be back."

"Can I speak to Faith?" Buffy asked almost crying in relief when she heard her sister's voice on the other end.

"B I wanna come home," Faith cried into the phone.

"I know you do baby, I'm sorry I said all that stuff, it was because I was sacred not because I meant it. I love you and I'll be there to get you soon I promise," Buffy said, "Say hi to Mom quickly," she said handing the phone over to Joyce who had been at her side since she'd said Faith's name.

"Sweetheart you're being very brave," Joyce said wiping away a tear, "I know you're scared but Buffy will be there soon so you have to be brave for a little while longer. I love you and I'll see you soon, can you but Ben back on the phone?" Joyce said her voice straining as she handed the phone back to Buffy.

Buffy listened to the scuffling of the phone being transferred and felt her blood run cold as she heard Faith's yell of terror in the background.

"Ben?" she asked tentatively.

"Guess again Slayer," the unmistakable voice of Glory answered her, "'Spose Ben gave away our little secret, no matter time's nearly run out. See you soon if you can get here in time."

Buffy stared at the phone in horror as the dial tone sounded. A Hell God had her sister and time was running out and they still didn't have a plan.

"We've found her," Willow yelled breathlessly as she and Tara ran into the room.

"We've been trying locator spells for hours but something had been blocking our magic," Tara explained.

"Perhaps with her energies focused elsewhere Glory let her defences slip," Giles mused.

"Where is she?" Buffy asked.

"Right at that tower I told you about," Willow said.

"That must be where the portal opens," Giles said, "Willow, Tara can you think of any spells that could maybe weaken Glory so Buffy can have a better chance of fighting her?"

"W-we've been working on a s-spell to transfer p-power," Tara said shyly.

"So you transfer the power outta Glory, the Buffster pounds on her and then we take Faith and go for cake," Xander said rubbing his hands together.

"It won't be that easy," Anya explained, "Demons with human hosts are almost impossible to kill in their demon body."

"Yes, yes I think I remember reading that, they are most vulnerable and can't survive without their human host," Giles said.

"We can't kill Ben he is an innocent in all of this," Buffy cried, "Will, Tara if you do the transferring power spell how long do I have before she's back to full strength?"

"A couple of minutes maybe, but Buffy we've never tested it properly, the most we've been able to do is transfer the power of a battery into a light bulb and even that ended in an explosion," Willow said hurriedly.

"It's the best we've got and time's running out as it is," Buffy said.

"But what will you transfer her power into?" Joyce asked.

"I'm thinking something that causes maximum pain," Buffy said.

"Olaf's hammer," Anya piped up, "It's still at the Magic Box and troll power plus that of a Hell God is sure to have some sort of effect."

"Okay you guys work on that and preferably quickly. I'm going there now to see if I can stop it before it starts. You guys grab the hammer and then meet me there," Buffy said heading towards the door.

She stopped when she felt a hand on her arm and turned around to see her mother's concerned eyes looking back at her.

"Mom I have to go," she said.

"I know, just be careful," Joyce said fiercely pulling Buffy into a hug.

"I'll bring her back," Buffy promised turning to face her friends she looked at them each in turn, "I'll see you soon," she said before racing out the door and into the night.


	21. Chapter 21

"Not to doubt your abilities because you're amazing but I'm having just the majorest of freakage right now," Willow said to Tara as they along with Xander, Anya and Giles carried the troll's hammer from the Magic Box to Joyce's Jeep which she had let them borrow.

"You'll do fine, I know you can do it," Tara said smiling reassuringly at her girlfriend.

"Plus it's not like the fate of the world lies in your hands or anything," Xander quipped, "Not the time for humour," he said off their stony looks.

"We must hurry," Giles puffed as they loaded the hammer into the trunk of the Jeep, "We have no idea what stage of the ritual Glory is in and I for one would like to get there before any blood is spilt."

"Poor Faith must be so scared," Tara commented as they piled into the Jeep.

"That's why you'll be able to do the spell," Xander said earnestly from the driver's seat, "Because Faith needs you to."

The redheaded witch nodded with a new determination in her eyes. Faith was practically defenceless in all of this and she would do all in her power to save her. What a difference to last year when she would have had no problem sacrificing the teenaged version to a Hell God.

The tyres squealed as they pulled away from the curb and they sped towards the misshapen tower that now stood out awkwardly against the skyline.

As Buffy ran through the streets of Sunnydale each thump her shoes made against the road sounded like Faith calling her name. As she rounded the corner into the warehouse district she nearly ran straight into a crowd of people who were stumbling towards the unsightly tower that definitely hadn't been there two days ago.

"Guess I came to the right place," she murmured catching snippets of their garbled conversation.

She only hoped she made it in time, she didn't know what she would do if anything happened to Faith. She pushed her way through the crowd and they murmured distractedly as she shoved them out of her way. She wasn't even trying to be sneaky or subtle at this point she just wanted to get to Faith as fast as she could. Glory knew she was coming so she would be expecting her so there was no point trying to go for the element of surprise. In her line of work it was hard not to believe in things like fate so she thanked whoever it was that was in charge of those things when she skidded to a halt outside the foreman's hut just as Glory walked out holding a terrified looking Faith.

"B!" Faith cried struggling in vain to get out of the Hell God's arms.

"I'm here baby," Buffy said feeling her hands clench at her sides as Glory's face broke out into a delighted smile.

"Slayer I'm so happy you made it," Glory said, "I would've hated it if you'd missed the show."

"There is not going to be a show," Buffy growled, "Hand her over and I won't be forced to hurt you."

"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour in this impending doom," Glory chuckled, "You can't hurt me and we both know it."

"B!" Faith cried again reaching her arms out to her sister.

"It's okay baby we're going to get out here soon," Buffy assured her.

"I think my boys will have something to say about that," Glory said rushing towards the tower.

Buffy launched after her but the brown robed monks appeared out of nowhere and made it impossible for her to get through. She could hear Faith calling out for her as Glory raced towards the tower and nearly cried in relief when she heard her mother's Jeep screech to a stop behind her. She didn't have time to call out for her friends as she was busy trying to fight her way through the monks and brain sucked civilians that were rushing at her. Her eyes never left Faith's terrified ones as she fought to get through the crowd, somehow her feet and hands managed to hit their marks but it seemed for every person she put down another took its place. Glory was nearly at the tower now and Buffy felt her heart in her throat as she reached the bottom step. Whatever was going to happen would happen at the top of that tower and she needed to stop Glory from getting any further.

It seemed that Willow and Tara read her mind because Glory stopped abruptly as if she had come up against an invisible wall. The Hell God screamed in frustration as she pushed against the shield and Buffy threw a quick look of thanks over her shoulder at the two witches who she could see were muttering under their breaths. Instead of fighting to get to the tower the blonde Slayer changed her direction to get back to where she knew the enchanted hammer was, she wanted to have it in her hands as she knew the witches would have to stop whatever spell they were doing now in order to transfer the power and time was not on their side.

Giles, Xander and Anya were fighting off the brain washed civilians with a variety of weapons and for the moment they looked like they were holding their own. She heard Faith scream when she turned her back on her and she knew the toddler thought she was abandoning her. She didn't have time to reassure her as she reached the car and grabbed the hammer. It felt heavy in her hands but gave her a feeling of reassurance as the wood fit firmly into her palm. Turning back around she cried out as she saw Glory hand Faith to an older looking man who had no problem passing through the barrier the witches had set up. He took Faith and rushed up the stairs of the tower nearly making Buffy sink down to her knees in despair.

"It's not over yet, there is still time," Giles called almost sensing his Slayer's anguish, "You must concentrate on stopping Glory."

She nodded at him and took a firmer grip on the hammer before turning back to Glory who was still trying to force her way through the barrier. The hammer wouldn't pack as much punch as it would with Glory's power transferred into it but Buffy hoped it would distract her long enough so the witches could put down the barrier and do their spell.

"You can't stop me," Glory said smirking as she turned to face the enraged Slayer, "She is going to die, the world is going to fall to the demons and you will be powerless to stop it."

"You know that is what I love about you evilly types you're always so cocky," Buffy said swinging the hammer around so it struck Glory in the face.

The Hell God was knocked sideways but managed to stay on her feet and Buffy took a second to nod her head at the witches behind her who stopped their barrier spell to work on the power transference.

"Firstly ouch, do you know how long it took me to get my hair looking like this and secondly you are so going to pay for that," Glory said launching herself at the Slayer.

It was brutal and Buffy was sure that a couple of her ribs were broken. The hammer whilst not heavy for a Slayer still made her side ache every time she lifted it over her head to swing at the Hell God. She threw a desperate look at the two witches who were still chanting madly behind her glad that Glory's attention was still on her rather than the two who could hopefully make this spell work.

With her attention temporarily drawn to the two women behind her Glory took the opportunity and slammed her fist into the side of Buffy's head. The Slayer went down hard and she groaned as she struggled to clear her vision.

"You know Slayer I've always been kind of fascinated with you. I mean you have all this strength and power but you use it for nothing. You could have so much more than you do, you could rule this world but you spend your time hiding in the night, your battle will never end, there will always be more demons and vampires and yet you keep fighting," Glory said standing over her, "I'm giving you one chance, come with me, and together we will rule, you can have power and glory, so what do you say?"

"I say goodbye," Buffy ground out as she struggled to her feet.

She could feel the energy in the air change and a green light emanated from within Glory and rushed out into the hammer the blonde Slayer held in her hand. Glory looked confused and stared at her hands before she was flying across the cluttered construction site. The hammer rung as it struck her over and over again and the pain in Buffy's side and head seemed to listen with every hit the Hell God took. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Giles and Anya helping an exhausted looking Willow and Tara to the Jeep and she felt a surge of hope as she stood over the beaten blonde who lay before her.

"You wanna know why I do what I do? I don't need the power, I don't need the glory, I have them and I have her and that is all that I need. To know they are safe from monsters like you that is all the glory that I need," Buffy said looking down at the beaten woman in disgust, "I'm not going to kill you, I won't stoop to your level, but when this is over I want you to leave, I don't care where you go but if I so ever as much as here about you trying something like this again then I will end you."

With that she picked Glory up by the neck of her now torn dress and hauled her through the crinkled iron wall behind her sending her flying to a stop in the centre of the dilapidated building in a haze of plaster and stone. It seemed like everything around her stopped when she felt the ground beneath her feet tremble and all the Scooby's looked up in horror as they saw the sky above them shudder and gather like a giant purple cloud just above the tower.

Buffy felt like her heart had stopped and suddenly there was a pressure in her chest as she struggled to breathe because she knew it could only mean one thing.

She was too late.


	22. Chapter 22

There was no telling what she would find when she reached the top of the misshapen tower. She knew that something must have happened to Faith for the portal to have started to open and it was with a mixed apprehension that she started to race up the rickety looking stairs. If she was indeed too late then Buffy knew she would never be able to forgive herself or forget the image of what she would see once she got to the top. Deep down she could still feel the dull throb of their connection so it was with this faint glimmer of hope that she pushed herself forward and closer to her destination.

The ground rumbled again and shook the tower and the blonde Slayer hat to desperately grab at a shard of metal that hung out over the edge to stop herself from falling. As it was she still found herself hanging precariously off the edge and in her haste to scramble back to stand upright threw a glance to the ground below where it seemed that Glory's followers who hadn't been dispatched by the Scooby's were dissipating now that their leader was incapacitated.

The higher she got in the tower the more shoddily built it became and the stairs all but gave way to unsteadily balanced ramps made up of numerous different materials one would find at a building site. She had to swing herself up by her legs at one point as the plank of wood she had been standing on collapsed and tumbled to the ground below.

There were no words that could describe the relief that flooded through her when she finally reached the top platform and saw Faith standing near the edge. The old man who had taken Faith from Glory when the fight first began was standing with his back to the Slayer. The toddler was crying and Buffy could see that the front of the dress she was wearing was torn presumably by the knife the old man held triumphantly above his head.

"No need to be scared little one, it will all be over soon," he said approaching Faith again with the knife now held out in front of him

The toddler cried out and stumbled backwards in an attempt to get away from him. In her haste she tripped over the hem of her dress and fell, landing hard on her back. Her feet which were now bared had small rivulets of blood that ran through and toes and dripped through the gaps of the ledge and down into the growing portal opening that had begun to expand just below where they stood

"S-stop p-please it h-hurts," Faith sobbed as the man stood over her.

"It won't hurt for much longer," he said and although his back was turned to her Buffy could hear the smirk she knew would be on his face.

"He's right," Buffy said finally making her presence known, "This is all going to be over soon."

The old man whirled around at the sound of her voice and the cruel smirk indeed graced his features.

"Oh I had so hoped you would make it up here in time to catch the show," he smirked; his tongue which flicked out to lick his lips was forked at the end belying his demon identity.

"B-Buffy," Faith sobbed and Buffy found herself momentarily stunned at hearing the young girl use her full name

The demon took her moment of distraction and used it to his full advantage, slashing out at her with his knife and slicing into the top of her arm. The sharp pain that emanated from the wound and the warm blood she could feel begin to seep down her arm snapped her into action.

"This shirt was a present," she growled with an anger she didn't know she possessed after catching sight of the blood on Faith's feet.

His elderly appearance was deceptive and the strength and speed in which he moved closely matched her own. She could still hear Faith crying in the background as they fought and this only fuelled her anger and desperation. He had hurt Faith and for that Buffy fought him mercilessly, pounding on him with as much anger she had Glory. In their scuffle she finally managed to pry the knife from his hand and kicked him to the ground, standing over him in an identical way to how he had stood over Faith not moments before.

The light from the expanding portal behind them caught the tip of the knife and illuminated the blood that covered it. She felt oddly calm as she stared at the blood, both a mixture of Faith and her own before turning her gaze to the beaten demon who lay at her feet

"I should probably have something witty and catchphrasey to say to you but I just can't give you that satisfaction so instead I'm just going to say that this is going to hurt and I'm not at all sorry," she said before plunging the knife into his chest and throwing him off the side of the tower.

She could see the portal expanding behind them as she rushed over to Faith's side.

"I'm here, its okay now, I'm here," she said as she pulled the toddler into her arms.

"It hurts," Faith sobbed into the crook of her neck

"I know, sshh you're okay," Buffy said her heart aching as she watched the first demon start to appear out of the portal.

"You're hurt too," Faith sniffed pulling back and wiping gingerly at the bleeding woun on Buffy's arm.

"Yeah, but only a little," Buffy said wiping at the tears that were still falling steadily from Faith's eyes.

They had never gotten as far as discussing what they would do should the portal open, mainly because she knew that none of them had even wanted to consider the possibility that it may happen and what would need to be done if it did. Buffy's heart was heavy with burden and she knew she had been in this situation before. Faith's blood had opened the portal so her blood would close it and yet it wasn't the same as sacrificing Angel. Faith was her sister, an innocent little girl; she didn't know how she could go on if she sacrificed her to save the world. The entire tower shook as another demon escaped the portal and Buffy found her own tears start to fall as the toddler snuggled in under her chin.

She could feel the energy in the air shift as the portal expanded and she knew there wasn't much time. She didn't know how she was going to do this, every conversation she had ever had with Giles about burden and responsibility came rushing back and she felt nauseous with grief as she kissed the top of Faith's head. How could anyone, the Powers that Be, whoever it was that ran this godforsaken world think that it was okay for this to happen? How could they make her choose between saving the world and saving her sister? How could they give her back and then take her away in the cruellest way possible.

It wasn't fair and she knew that this was going to be the last time she slayed. This was too much to ask of her, of anyone and she was done. She would never be the same again after this; there would be no recovering from it. To have to explain to her mother what she had done, Buffy didn't know how she would be able to even form words. She wouldn't want to live in a world where the little girl in her arms didn't exist so maybe she wouldn't do it, maybe she wouldn't save the world this time and they could go into hiding or something. A screeching sound pierced the air and what looked to be a dragon escaped the portal, crashing into buildings as it flew out across the Sunnydale skyline. She could picture the death and destruction that would happen, could picture their faces and they lay sprawled in the street, completely unprepared to deal with what would befall them. Could she feel the burden of millions of deaths on her shoulders if it meant saving the life of one? Some sentence about the greater good ran through her mind and she choked out an angry sob. This would be it, she was done, Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be no more.

"B?" Faith asked.

"Yeah baby," Buffy replied memorising the way the toddler looked, sounded and felt in her arms.

"Is it over now?" the younger girl asked, leaning her head against her sister's shoulder.

"Nearly, it'll be over soon."


	23. Chapter 23

As she pulled away from Faith, Buffy had to fight down another wave of nausea as she saw the complete trust that shone in the depths of the young girl's chocolate coloured eyes. She knew the longer she put it off the harder it would be but her brain simply could not fathom the thought that she was going to sacrifice her sister to save the world.

"Do you know how much I love you?" she asked her voice thick with emotion.

"More than cookies," Faith stated wiping her hair out of her eyes and leaving a trail of blood streaked across her cheek.

"Much more than cookies," Buffy choked out in a half sob, half laugh.

"I love you more than cookies too," Faith told her, "Can we go home now? My belly is hurting."

Buffy ignored her question and pulled her tightly to her chest. The cut on Faith's middle was fairly shallow so the blood was dripping out slowly but her own arm felt slick with blood from the deep knife wound there. She didn't feel any pain in her arm only the pain in her heart that intensified when she felt Faith's small arms wound themselves tightly around her neck. She knew she didn't have much time and the world seemed to melt away until all she could hear were her own hitching breaths and the toddler's contented sighs as she settled into her sister's embrace.

"I knew you'd come save me," Faith whispered, "The scary man didn't believe me but I knew you would 'cause you're my superhero."

Buffy couldn't stop the sob that escaped her at that and she buried her face in the top of her sister's head taking in the sweet and innocent smell that was so distinctly Faith.

"You're a superhero too," the blonde Slayer choked out, "And superheroes have to save the world."

"Superheroes are brave," Faith nodded curling her fingers into Buffy's hair.

"And I need you to be brave and remember how much I love you and how much Mom loves you. Can you do that for me?" Buffy asked feeling Faith nod against her shoulder.

Her face was still buried in the toddler's hair, the two of them caught up in their own worlds. The younger felt safe and warm whilst the older felt heartbroken with an almost debilitating despair. Each clung to one another as Buffy stood; still not facing the portal she knew would be expanding behind them. Her hurt arm now hung pretty much useless by her side, the blood running down in streams to drip off the end of her listless fingertips. It was as if all the pain her heart felt at what she about to do had transferred to the wounded limb and it felt heavy. Her other arm held Faith's head to her shoulder and she kept her eyes closed as she kissed the top of the toddler's head.

"Can you close your eyes for me Faithy and just keep thinking of how much we all love you," Buffy said her voice wavering.

Buffy could hardly breathe as she made her meet move, she didn't want to open her eyes because then maybe she could pretend it was all just a horrible dream. Her senses stretched and she could feel that they had reached the end of the platform.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered into Faith's hair.

Had it not been for her heightened reflexes she would not have been able to stop her forward momentum in time. She had swung Faith back in her arms and was seconds away from letting her go and swinging the toddler out into the portal when her eyes snapped open and noticed the portal, which had minutes ago been spouting out demons was completely gone. Pulling Faith back suddenly she felt her knees shudder at the abrupt change in momentum. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she looked out in disbelief at where the portal should have been.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Faith asked pulling back so Buffy could see her face, her eyes still squeezed tightly shut.

For a moment Buffy thought that maybe it all had been a dream but then the pain in her arm throbbed and Faith started crying again pulling her back into reality.

"B my belly is real sore," she cried.

"Let's go home," Buffy said not even recognising her own voice.

She didn't understand what had happened, how the portal had closed. She felt as if she were watching the scene from afar caught in a state of relief but also disbelief at what she had nearly done. When they reached the bottom the Scoobies immediately crowded around them. Xander held an unconscious Anya in his arms and Willow and Tara were leaning heavily against one another. Giles' shirt was torn and he had a cut about his eyebrow, and their faces which had been tightly drawn relaxed instantaneously when they saw both Buffy and Faith step off the bottom step.

"Thank God you're both alright," Giles said wrapping his arms around the two of them.

"Giles what happened? Why did it close?" Buffy asked stepping out of his embrace.

"I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine at this point," the former Watcher sighed tiredly.

"But is that it? I mean is it really over? Is she gone?" Xander asked.

"She will not be returning," Giles said, the grim set of his face belying what he was leaving unsaid. The former Watcher had done what his Slayer could not; Ben was dead so Glory could not return.

"Buffy your arm!" Willow exclaimed having just noticed the blonde Slayer's blood soaked arm.

"Good Lord Buffy, you need to go to the hospital and get that looked at," Giles said examining the wound.

"It's fine, but Faith is cut on her stomach so we should take her to get looked at," the blonde Slayer said her voice void of emotion.

"It hurts," Faith sniffled.

"I know baby," Buffy said her voice softening.

They managed to somehow squeeze all seven of them into the Jeep with Giles behind the wheel with Faith in Buffy's lap in the passenger seat and a groggy but conscious Anya on Xander's lap in the backseat along with Willow and Tara. Before they got in Giles had ripped the other sleeve off Buffy's shirt and wrapped it around the wound on her arm and the Slayer held a towel they had found in the car to the cut on Faith's stomach. They were all silent on the drive to the hospital except for Faith who cried softly. It had been an incredibly emotionally exhausting day and the young girl had reached the end of her tether. She didn't scream or sob loudly but tears streamed down her cheeks and she whimpered for her mother.

"We'll see her soon," Buffy soothed as she lifted Faith from the car.

The staff at Sunnydale General were used to unexplainable injuries so they asked no questions of the battle weary group. Faith had yelled when the ER doctor trid to take her from Buffy so the two eventually sat together in an examination room with one doctor stitching the wound on Buffy's arm whilst another examined the wound on Faith's stomach.

"It's not too deep but I'd still like to stitch it," he said to Buffy.

"Okay," Buffy sighed, "Giles can you call Mom and let her know we are okay and that we'll be home soon."

"Of course," the former Watched nodded and hurried quickly from the room.

"Do you mind if I cut the dress away?" the doctor asked.

"No, go ahead it's ruined anyway," Buffy said knowing that even if it weren't Faith would have never worn it again.

"Ow," Faith cried when he cut the dress away.

"It'll be over soon," Buffy said smoothing her hand over the toddler's head.

"Okay Faith I'm just going to give you a shot that will make it stop hurting and then I will stitch it up," the doctor said approaching them again.

"No, no shots I don't want it," Faith yelled shrinking back against Buffy whose lap she sat on.

"Come on Faithy you have to let the doctor do it so he can make you better," Buffy said, "And we will be matching," she said showing Faith her arm the other doctor had just finished sewing up.

"It'll only hurt for a second," the doctor promised, "And all my very brave patients get a lollipop when I'm done."

"Will B get a wowipop too?" Faith asked.

"Of course, she was very brave," the doctor chuckled.

"Squeeze my hand," Buffy said giving the toddler her good hand to hold, "You know Mom is going to be so proud of you when we get home.

"'Cause I am being a brave girl," Faith said tipping her head back so she could see Buffy's face.

"The bravest," Buffy said kissing the tip of her sister's nose.

"All done," the doctor smiled.

"That didn't hurt at all," Faith marvelled.

"Can you feel this?" the doctor asked prodding around the wound.

"Nope," the toddler shook her head.

"Okay now I'm going to stitch it closed and then you can go home," the doctor said.

Buffy closed her eyes as she listened to Faith chat to the doctor. She couldn't believe how much had happened in just one day. She couldn't believe that they had all (bar Ben) escaped relatively unharmed.

"B," Faith said making the blonde Slayer's eyes snap open.

"What baby?" she replied.

"What am I gonna wear home? I don't want everyone to see my panties," the toddler said indicating the dress the doctor had cut off her.

"We couldn't have that could we," Buffy chuckled.

"You're not 'sposed to just wear panties, Mama sayed so," Faith said defiantly.

"Not when you're out in public no you're not," Buffy smiled, "Willow," she called to her best friend who she could see out in the waiting room.

"Are we all patched up and ready to go?" the redhead smiled as she came to the door.

"Nearly, but do you think you could run to the gift shop and see if they've got anything that Faith could wear home," Buffy asked.

"I don't want everyone to see my panties," the toddler told the witch who chuckled.

"I will see what I can find and be back in a jiffy," Willow smiled before disappearing round the corner.

"I'm all finished," the doctor said, "Do you want to see them before I cover them up?" he asked Faith.

"Wicked," the toddler exclaimed as she examined her stitches.

"And for being so brave you get one of these," the doctor said handing both girls a lollipop.

"Thanks," Faith said holding hers out to Buffy to unwrap.

"You'll have to changed the dressing on these after two days and try not to get htem wet for the first week. Faith's should be ready to come out after a week but I would give yours two," he explained to Buffy as he placed a white bandage carefully over Faith's stitches.

Buffy nodded and thanked him knowing her arm would be healed much sooner than that. Willow returned shortly after with a plain white T-shirt and grey sweatpants that would fit Faith and after being proudly shown the bandage on the toddler's stomach helped Buffy get her dressed.

There were a couple of forms that Buffy had to fill out so she attempted to hand over a content Faith to Willow. The toddler who had been happily sucking on her lollipop was not happy with this and Willow quickly handed her back before Faith could elapse into full blown hysterics. The toddler hiccupped and rested her head against Buffy's shoulder and Buffy handed the forms over to Giles to fill out for her.

Thanks to the injection the doctor had given her her arm wasn't hurting and she knew the toddler wasn't crying because she was in pain. They were all beyond exhausted by this point and Buffy's whole body felt sluggish as she soothed a distressed Faith.

The drive back to the Summers house was quiet each lost in their own thoughts. Buffy ran her thumb absently over the soft skin of Faith's arms as she watched the town fly by outside her window. She could feel the toddler's body getting heavier against her own as Faith eventually gave into sleep and she soon found her own eyes fighting to close as her breathing began to match the slumbering girl that rested against her. She jumped when she felt the car come to a stop not sure if she had actually fallen asleep and looked around blearily until her eyes came to rest on Giles in the driver's seat.

"We're at your house," he said softly so as not to wake the rest of the Scoobies who were resting in the backseat, "I'm sure I do not need to tell you how glad I am that you are both alright, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost either one of you today."

"Thanks Giles," she murmured extricating one arm from around Faith and hugging him.

"Go on now," he said gruffly wiping at his cheeks, "I'm sure your mother is most desperate to see that you are both well."

The front door of the house flew open as soon as Buffy opened her car door and Joyce ran down the path to the driveway reaching them just as Buffy stepped out and situated Faith on her hip. She could see tears glinting on her mother's cheeks in the moonlight and rushed to meet her in a hug that crushed Faith between them. The toddler was so exhausted that she didn't stir as the two older Summers women embraced both sobbing in relief.

"We're okay Mom, everything is okay."

**A/N: I hope I gave that justice, it was hard to write and I hope I did it well. Please send me a review and put my worried mind at ease. **


	24. Chapter 24

Faith slept soundly through the whole night, the past day having exhausted her to the point that nightmares of the traumatising event could not even invade her subconscious. Joyce lay on the other side, her hand resting on Faith's back as if in sleep she needed a constant reminder that Faith was back safely with them. Buffy found that the exhaustion that had overcome her in the car ride earlier now eluded her and spent most of the night watching Faith as she slept curled up at her side. Faith had a tight grip on Buffy's pyjama top but the blonde lay with her arms by her side, unable to embrace the toddler as she usually would have.

She felt numb, completely horrified within herself at what she had nearly done. She didn't feel like she could offer Faith any sort of comfort hen just hours before she had been willing to let her die. Not just let her die, she was going to be the one to kill her. That fact kept rolling around her head, taunting her and not letting her mind rest.

When the first rays of sunlight filtered through the curtains of Joyce's bedroom window Buffy managed to extricate herself from Faith's grasp, needing to get away from the young girl. She couldn't look at her without an overwhelming feeling of guilt crashing down on her. She knew Faith had no idea what she had been going to do up on that tower but every time Buffy looked at her all she could see was the blood running between Faith's toes and the expanding portal behind her.

She found herself out in the backyard, the crisp morning air doing nothing to alleviate the weariness that seemed to spread right from the depths of her soul. As the garden came alive around her the warmth of the sunlight made Buffy feel like her body was made of ice. She could feel nothing but the utter devastation at what her calling had nearly cost her.

"Buffy?" her mother's soft voice interrupted her despair.

Joyce stood at the back door with a sniffling Faith in her arms.

"Faith was worried that you had gone missing so we were just coming to find you to see that you were alright," Joyce said smoothing her hand over Faith's head.

"I'm okay," she said.

"Can Faith sit out here with you while I go and fix us all something for breakfast?" Joyce asked moving forward.

"No!" Buffy all but yelled standing abruptly, "I'm going to have a shower," she said bushing past her mother and rushing into the house.

She didn't stop running until the bathroom door was firmly locked behind her. The face that stared back at her in the bathroom mirror looked nothing like her own. There were dark circles beneath her eyes and the person in the mirror looked void of all emotion. She didn't know when in the last couple of hours that the thought of being alone with Faith suddenly become absolutely terrifying but she knew she couldn't stand being with her right now.

She showered quickly and threw on the jeans and T-shirt that were lying on the bathroom floor. She almost tripped over Faith when she stepped out of the bathroom. The young girl was lying on her stomach in the middle of the hallway with several of her action figures spread out around her.

"B can you play Batman with me?" Faith asked turning over so she lay on her back, a Joker and Batman figurine held in each hand.

"Not now Faith," Buffy said hurriedly stepping over her sister and heading towards the stairs.

"But Mama sayed that you would," Faith whined.

"Well I don't want to right now okay so you're going to just deal," Buffy said sharply a little voice inside her head cursing her with what she was saying.

"MAMA!" Faith cried scrambling off the flood and racing down the stairs in front of Buffy.

Buffy knew that it was her words which had caused the younger girl to get upset but she couldn't make herself focus on it by that stage. The more time she spent with Faith the worse the guilt and then fear at what she was capable of doing seemed to suffocate her. She could hear Faith crying in the kitchen so she headed towards the living room to hopefully avoid a confrontation with her mother. She had just turned on the television when her mother walked in from the kitchen with a hiccupping Faith balanced on her hip.

"Buffy do you want to explain to me why you felt the need to be so rude to your sister, particularly when you know she's having a hard time right now?" Joyce asked her eyes flashing angrily.

"I don't feel like playing with her right now," Buffy shrugged.

"You don't think that maybe you could have thought about what Faith wants and needs especially considering all that she went through yesterday," Joyce said rubbing Faith's back soothingly.

"What about what I want? Nobody ever asks what I want or need. It's all about Faith and what she went through. Well what about what I went through huh? Nobody ever cares what I went through," Buffy shouted standing from the couch, "You know what I need right now? I need to not be here. I'm going to Giles' and then tonight I'm going to patrol so don't wait up," she said forcing her way past her mother and out the front door before Joyce even had a chance to react.

She wasn't angry at her mother or at Faith, in truth she was angry and disgusted with herself and with what she'd nearly done. The fact was she knew that she had to deal with her issues and the only probably way of doing so would be to talk about what she had been about to do and to spend time with Faith, both of which she simply couldn't face doing right now. The truth was she was hurting Faith in the process and this only worsened the guilt she felt and it was with those heavy thoughts running rampant through her mind that she started the walk to Giles' apartment.

Her Watcher opened the door with a bright smile on his face, the cut above his eyebrow the only indication he had been involved in stopping an apocalypse the night before.

"Buffy, I didn't think I'd be seeing you today I thought you would have stayed at home with Faith and your mother," Giles said.

"Yeah well you thought wrong," Buffy shrugged moving past him and into his apartment, "I thought I'd come here and you could tell me what the hell happened last night."

He raised his eyebrow at her attitude chalking it up to tiredness before closing the front door and following her into his living room.

"I suppose you mean why did the portal close," he asked pouring her a cup of tea from the teapot sitting on his coffee table.

"Exactly because one second it was all apocalypse now and I was going to have to...but then it was fixed," Buffy said taking a sip of the tea he handed her.

Giles didn't miss the way she paused and a light when off in his head. The coldness in which she had spoken to him when she first came in reminded him of a time a few years ago when she come back from LA after the Master had killed her. His Slayer unfortunately did not deal with emotional unrest in the best way, it took her awhile to fully process things and in the meantime the people around her sometimes got caught in the crossfire. In the hustle of last night he had completely forgotten to address exactly what had happened up on that tower. Buffy had believed that she had to kill her sister in order to save the world and by the looks of things she had been willing to do it and was now having a hard time dealing with this.

"Buffy you know the decision you made at the top of that tower says nothing about how much you love Faith or how much she loves you," Giles said.

"I didn't come here for a lecture on love Giles, I came here for answers," Buffy said.

"Of course which I am happy to provide," Giles said ignoring her hostility, "These are of course only my speculations as I don't think we will ever have a sound answer."

"Go for it," she shrugged.

"Well as you know the Twice Blessed is the one with a sacred duty whose blood has been blessed twice with life and touched by death, which essentially the two of you have been. Faith however has taken life whilst you were given life and I believe that the mixing of your blood essentially counter balanced each other and forced the portal to close," Giles told her.

"Guess its lucky demon guy skewered my arm then," Buffy said lightly fingering the bandage on her arm.

"I'll say," Giles nodded enthusiastically, "Buffy it is not your fault and says nothing of your character what you were willing to do up there," he said trying again.

"Look Giles I've got to go," she said not wanting to listen to him try and persuade her from her guilt ridden state.

"You know if you need to I'm available to talk to," Giles said to her retreating back shaking his head sadly when she shut the front door behind her.

He sighed knowing she would get there eventually, she had actually done nothing wrong but Buffy was famous for punishing herself and this was no exception. He knew if anyone was going to get through to her then it would be Faith so he wasn't too worried it was all just a matter of time.

**A/N: **The next chapter will be the last for this story. Thank you so much everyone who has stuck with it till the end.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N:** And so we have come to the end. It's been a long time coming but I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this fic. I want to thank everyone who has stuck with me and kept sending me reviews you guys and gals make me happier than you can imagine.

Buffy found herself wandering the streets of Sunnydale for the rest of the afternoon. She was sure people must have thought she was some sort of vagrant or something because the only purpose for her wandering was so she didn't have to go home and face Faith. The vampires she met once the sun eventually went down were on the receiving end of all the self-inflicted shame and hurt that she was feeling and never stood a chance.

Giles' words rang in her head as she pummelled on the vampires with such ferocity that her knuckles split and warm blood ran down between her fingers. The bright red liquid that shone under the moonlight and the stark reminder of the blood that had run down over Faith's feet forced out the sob that had been stuck in her chest all day. She fell to her knees in the middle of the cemetery and cried as she had come so close to losing not only the world but her world. In such a short amount of time she had come to love the four year old in a way she had never loved anyone before. The protectiveness she felt over the younger girl was such that the thought of her being harmed caused her to feel a gut wrenching sorrow. The thought that she then was to cause her harm made her ached right down to her very core.

She knew the cruelty of what she was nearly forced to do was not her fault, that it spoke nothing of how much she loved Faith or even about her as a person but she couldn't help but feel as if there was something wrong with her because she would have even considered pushing Faith off the tower in the first place. She sobbed into the cool, wet grass for what she could have lost and for what she felt she had. Faith was okay and she had saved the world but how would she ever be able to face Faith with the knowledge that she had been so close to killing her.

So she lay, cold and alone in the middle of the cemetery, unable to make herself get up and go home to the family she knew would have no problems welcoming her back even after she had treated them. She was so consumed in her pain that she didn't feel the tell tale tingle that should have alerted her to a vampire's presence.

"Buffy? Is that you? Are you okay?"

That voice which sounded so familiar yet so out of place jolted her out of her misery and she sat up, looking around in confusion.

"Angel? What are you doing here?" she asked wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"Cordelia had a vision and Lorne read me and said you needed my help so I got here as fast as I could," he said helping her stand.

"Well you're too late, the big show was last night," she said.

"So the big bad is gone?" he asked.

"'Fraid so, her portal opening days are done and dusted," Buffy said, "That would've sounded so much cooler if she were a vamp."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," he said softly.

"Wasn't your fight," she shrugged picking at her cuticles.

"Still you could've called me," he protested.

"It was my mess," Buffy all but screamed the intensity of emotions flowing through her making themselves known, "It was my fault she ran away, it was my fault she got kidnapped, it was my fault she got hurt and it was me who nearly..." Buffy choked out, her words strained as her tears returned.

Angel said nothing as he pulled her to his side, manoeuvring them both so they sat against a large tree that stood in the middle of the cemetery. He let her cry against his chest, muttering soothing words of comfort in the hope to alleviate some of her obvious guilt. He knew what had happened, both Cordelia and Lorne had been very specific with what they had seen and he knew his role wasn't to help her in the fight; it was to help her with what she felt afterwards. He himself was well versed in feeling guilty over things that he'd had no control over so he let her cry knowing that no progress could be made if she hung onto the sorrow that she was clinging to.

"I don't know what I would've done if I'd..." she stopped not able to say the words but somehow accepting that he knew what she was talking about.

"But you didn't, she's fine," he murmured into her hair.

"I nearly did though Angel, I was willing to push her off," she gasped as she said it.

"No one would've blamed you if you had. It was a horrific choice you had to make. It wasn't fair and it would have been tragic but none of it would've been your fault, "Angel said, "If you had pushed her you would've saved the world, saved billions of people. It doesn't mean you're a terrible person, it speaks to your strength that you were willing to give so much to save the world. The fact is is that you didn't. Faith is alive, she is alive and she needs her sister. She doesn't blame you, she doesn't hate you, she loves you and she needs to know that you still love her."

"Of course I still love her," Buffy said wiping her eyes.

"She doesn't know that, all she knows is that you won't touch her or speak to her. What else is she supposed to think?"

"How am I supposed to look at her when I know what I could've done?" Buffy sniffed.

"You look at her because you are lucky and glad to still have her. You celebrate that you didn't have to push her off. You enjoy watching her grow up in a world that still exists because of you."

She sighed as she settled against his chest. Everything he had said was true, she had been so caught up in what could have happened instead of recognising what had. Faith was alive and she had hurt her by distancing herself. Faith had no idea what had really happened up on that tower, all she knew was that suddenly Buffy wouldn't touch her and had jumped to the conclusion that made the most sense to her four year old self. She thought Buffy didn't love her and that thought broke Buffy's heart more than the thought of pushing Faith off the tower.

They sat together in silence, quietly taking comfort in being in each other's arms. Angel always made her feel safe and she knew he could sympathise with what she was feeling and the fact he had travelled all this way to make sure she was alright made her feel warm inside even with his cold arms wrapped around her. She knew they could never be, they were doomed from the start but it was nice in moments like these to pretend.

"Thank you," she croaked after some time turning so she could see his face. His eyes which had always revealed what he couldn't say showed the depth of his feelings but also the pain he felt at knowing they could never be together.

"Always," he said his face moving so their lips were mere inches apart.

The kiss was short but comfortable and Buffy sighed as she rested her head back on his chest. She would always love him there was no question about that but she knew she would have to try and stop holding out for him.

"The sun'll be coming up soon," he said.

"Does that mean you have to go?" Buffy asked not wanting to let go just yet.

"I thought I'd stay for awhile," he said, "If that's okay."

"Of course, I know one little girl who will be more than excited to see you," Buffy smiled, "Although I hope the We're Going to See Angel song doesn't get a repeat."

"I'll give you some time to get things sorted out," he said as she pulled away from him.

"Thank you for coming and helping me get my head straight," she said.

"I'm glad I could help," he said glancing at the sky, "I better go. I'll see you tonight."

"See you then," she said as he disappeared into the shadows.

Her heart felt lighter as she made her way through the streets and back towards her house. She knew her mother would be worried with the way she had stormed out of the house but she wasn't worried about those consequences now that the guilt she had felt was lessening. The light in the living room was on as she let herself quietly in through the front door and she saw her mother had fallen asleep on the couch, obviously waiting up for her. She grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over Joyce, dropping a kiss to her forehead before switching off the light and heading up the stairs.

She passed by Faith's closed door and debated about going in before deciding that waking up the toddler in the early hours of the morning to make amends probably wasn't the best idea. She shrugged out of her jacket and threw it to the floor as she walked into her own room, stopping when she spotted the small lump in the middle of her bed. She moved softly, not wanting to wake the toddler but stopped when she noticed Faith moving. The toddler sighed as she picked at the bandage on her stomach before looking up at Buffy, her eyes shining in the early dawn light.

"Hey baby," Buffy said hesitantly moving so she sat on the edge of the bed, "What are you doing awake?"

"You didn't come home so I was ascared," Faith shrugged.

"Why were you scared?" Buffy asked.

"I thought you weren't gonna come back," Faith said rolling over onto her side so she faced Buffy, "Was I bad? Is that why you're angry?"

"Oh baby no you weren't bad," Buffy said reaching over and lifting Faith up onto her lap, "I'm sorry I was just so scared and upset and I took it out on you. You did nothing wrong okay, it was all me I was so scared I was going to lose you that I..." she broke off as her tears started.

"Don't cry," Faith said reaching up to touch Buffy's face, "Do you want me to kiss it better? That always works for me when Mama does it."

Buffy laughed and pulled Faith in for a hug, ignoring the pain in her arm as it pulled at her stitches.

"Can you give me one right here?" she asked pointing to her nose and laughed when Faith did, "Okay how about here?" she asked pointing to her cheek, "And now here," she said pointing to the other cheek, "You're right that does make me feel better," she said tickling the toddler and leaving sloppy kisses all over her face.

"B stop!" Faith giggled but not struggling to escape.

"Okay okay, we don't want to wake Mom up she's a scary sight this early in the morning," Buffy said feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders now that she had Faith in her arms, "How is your belly? Is it sore?"

"Uh huh and Mama sayed it was okay to cry if it hurted but I sayed you didn't cry so I'm being brave like you," Faith stated.

"Well I'm with Mom if something hurts it's okay to cry about it but I'm really proud how brave you have been after everything that has happened," Buffy said manoeuvring them so they lay on the bed with Faith's head resting on her chest.

"It was scary," Faith said softly winding her fingers into Buffy's hair.

"I know and I'm sorry all this has happened to you," Buffy said, "You know I love you right?"

"I love you too," Faith said, "And I don't mind bad stuff happening to me 'cause the bad guys always take the people the superheroes love but then the superheroes always rescue them just in time because they love them."

"I will always get there in time," Buffy said, "But even superheroes need their sleep and I'm really sleepy. Do you want to stay in here with me or go back to your room?"

"Stay with you," Faith yawned.

"Okay gorgeous girl don't go anywhere and I'll go de-patrol myself and be right back," Buffy said shrugging out from Faith's grasp and heading towards the bathroom.

When she returned Faith had gotten under the blankets and had her arms wrapped around Mr. Gordo who was pressed against her chest. Buffy thought the younger girl had fallen asleep and jumped when Faith spoke.

"B will you tell me a story?"

"Alright, this is a story about a girl named Faith," Buffy said settling down next to her sister, "And she was super excited because her friend Angel is coming to visit her tonight."

"Angel is coming to visit tonight?" Faith asked excitedly.

"He's very excited to see you," Buffy said cringing when she realised her mistake.

"Angel is coming tonight, Angel is coming tonight," Faith sang wriggling out of the covers and jumping up and down on the bed.

"Yes it's all very exciting but it's time for bed now 'member Buffy is tired," Buffy said wincing at the new verse of the Angel is coming tonight song.

"But B the sun is coming up now it's time to get up," Faith stopped her song long enough to point out.

"The sun isn't coming up if you close your eyes like this," Buffy said grabbing Faith around the ankles making the toddler giggle as she fell onto the bed.

"I'm not sleepy now that Angel is coming," Faith pouted as Buffy pulled her back up to lie on the pillows.

"You will be tonight when Angel gets here and then you'll miss playing with him," Buffy told her, "Better get some sleep now so you can play with him lots later."

"He would be sad if he didn't get to play with me," Faith mused.

"He would be very sad," Buffy said running her fingers through the younger girl's hair.

"Tell me another story that doesn't have Angel in it. Tell me a story that has Grandpa Giles in it," Faith said snuggling in under Buffy's chin.

"Okay well when I first started training with Grandpa Giles he decided he would try and spar with me using this big stick thing which he called a flagstaff or something. Anyways Grandpa Giles was not very good at using it and pretty soon he was flying across the room..."

When Buffy woke around noon Faith was still curled against her side with her thumb firmly in her mouth. She stretched languidly taking the time to enjoy the feeling of having Faith with her like Angel had said. She was tempted to let Faith sleep longer but she knew that they would have enough trouble as it was with Angel around getting the toddler to bed that night so she shook her gently.

"Faithy, it's time to get up now," she said grinning when the toddler frowned and buried her face in the crook of her neck.

"Don't wanna," Faith murmured.

"But I'm hungry and I don't wanna go have lunch without you," Buffy whined tickling the younger girl's stomach.

"Big girls can eat lunch by themselves," Faith mumbled.

"I'm not a big girl I need you to come and protect me from the big scary Mom monster," Buffy whined knowing in part some of that was true. She hadn't seen her mother since she had run out of the house the day before but if Faith was with her Joyce was less likely to yell.

"Please Faithy don't make me go alone," Buffy pleaded.

"You're annoying," Faith grumbled as Buffy pulled away.

"Hey! Am not, I'm cool, the coolest big sister out, you're lucky to have a sister as cool as me."

"I'm cooler," Faith said holding out her arms so Buffy picked her up.

"You're cool sure, but just not as cool. In fact people know me as Buffy 'The Icewoman' Summers that's how cool I am," Buffy said as Faith rested her head on her shoulder.

"Whatever B," Faith said as her thumb wound its way back into her mouth.

"Okay Miss 'Tude I can take a hint," Buffy chuckled as they headed down the stairs.

Faith had dozed off again by the time they reached the kitchen and Buffy nearly dropped her when she saw the familiar vampire standing in the kitchen.

"Angel, the sun, how did you?"

"I used the sewers for the most part but then I used this tarp I found at the mansion," Angel said.

"Turns out the pull of Faith is hard to resist," Joyce smiled.

"She's pretty excited to see you," Buffy said, "The Angel song returned very early this morning," she told her mother who chuckled.

"Have you checked her stitches this morning?" Joyce asked her daughter.

"Uh no, I talked to her a little just before but she's pretty tired still I guess," Buffy said relieved that Joyce seemed to be letting her outburst go.

"Guess it would be easier to change it while she's still out like a light," Joyce smiled placing her hand on her youngest's back briefly before leaving the kitchen.

"Couldn't stay away huh," Buffy smirked at the souled vampire who stepped closer when Joyce left the room. She kicked herself as her heart fluttered at the sight of him.

"I wanted to see her," he said and Buffy was sure that if he could he would've blushed.

"Well I nearly had to tie her to the bed this morning she wouldn't stop jumping up and down she was so excited to see you," Buffy said as he placed a hand on the top of the toddler's head and leaned in so their faces were inches apart.

"That's because she loves her Angel," Joyce said entering the kitchen and making them jump apart, "Angel if you wouldn't mind holding Faith's shirt up then we can change this quickly."

"Uh o-of course Joyce," he said.

He kept his eyes trained on the blonde Slayer over the top of the toddler's head as Joyce redressed the bandage on Faith's stomach. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes at their situation. They were both as bad as each other but she was just too happy at that moment to even comprehend why she couldn't seem to be in the room with him and not have this inexplicable feeling.

"Let me have a look at your arm Buffy and I'll change yours for you," Joyce said as she re-bandaged Faith's wound.

"It's okay Mom really I can do it later," Buffy said as her mother pushed up her sleeve, "Or not you can just do it now."

"Buffy sometimes you just have to let a mother take care of her daughter," Joyce said, "No matter how old they are, or if they are the Slayer, or if they have to make horrendous choices."

"You know about that?"

"Giles called this morning, he was worried about you," her mother said.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said hanging her head.

"You listen to me Buffy Summers, I could not be prouder of both of my daughters. You have one of the hardest jobs in the world, there is no right or wrong in what you do but you must know that I will always love you no matter what happens. We have to be happy that we have Faith with us so I will tolerate absolutely no guilt trips on your part. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Buffy said giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Good because I was about to pull out my stern mother voice and you know how I hate to get stern mother wrinkle lines," Joyce smirked replacing the bandage on Buffy's arm.

"I suppose you three will be spending the day inside," Joyce said winking at Angel.

"Somehow I don't think a barbequed Angel is quite what we had in mind for today," Buffy smirked.

"Well in that case I might quickly pop on a load of laundry that I have been putting off," Joyce said kissing the top of Faith's head.

"Okay," Buffy called after her mother, "Are you ready for a day of colouring and stories and Scooby Doo?" she asked Angel.

"Scooby Doo?"

"She is unhealthily obsessed," Buffy smirked.

"Ready," he smiled taking a deep breath.

"Baby there is somewhere here who is very excited to see you," she said into Faith's ear.

The younger girl stirred and lifted her head from Buffy's shoulder and rubbed her eyes as she frowned at her sister.

"I don't wanna see Xander I already sawed him yesterday," Faith grumbled.

"Not Xander, although I'm pretty sure he might cry if he heard you say that. Angel's here," Buffy said.

"Angel!" Faith said twisting in Buffy's arms and practically throwing herself at him, "You're here!"

"I'm here," he said catching her and spinning her around in a circle.

"B sayed you were here but I didn't believe her 'cause sometimes she doesn't tell the truth even though Mama says that lying is bad for the skin," Faith told him.

"Hey! I do not lie, I'm a truth teller from way back. When did I lie?" Buffy asked.

"You sayed that beans taste good and I had them and they do not," Faith pouted crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay that's true that was a lie but Mom was there and she would've gotten angry at me if I told you beans taste good."

"See, she lies," Faith told Angel.

"Lying is bad," he said winking at Buffy.

"Okay since when did this become pick on Buffy day?"

"Don't be a baby," Faith said, "Angel I gotta show you my book that Grandpa Giles got me and then we can play Batman," she said wriggling so he would put her down and then grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door.

Buffy watched them go with a smile on her face. They had been through a lot yet here they were the Slayer, the souled vampire and the ex Slayer turned child and they were happy. She felt her mother's arms wrap around her waist and she leaned back into the embrace. This was true happiness; this was all that she needed.

"B come on!" Faith called down the stairs.

"Alright I'm coming."

THE END

**A/N: The end is finally here. It has been a labour of love but I got there in the end. Hope you enjoyed it but don't despair this won't be the end of this series. I am going to have a little break and concentrate on some other fics for awhile but little Faith will be back.**


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